When are the application deadlines?

May 1 for fall semester and December 1 for spring. Given the interview requirement and limited seats, starting your application well before the deadline is strongly advised.

What is the interview like?

It is a conversation with the PSEO coordinator about your goals, readiness, and why you want to study at St. Scholastica. Treat it like a friendly college interview: know why you chose the college, which courses interest you, and how you will balance the workload.

Is St. Scholastica a good choice for future nursing students?

It is one of the strongest arguments for the program. The college has a deep health sciences identity, and PSEO students can take foundational sciences in that environment, meet faculty, and test their interest in healthcare before committing to a nursing pathway.

Can juniors attend St. Scholastica full-time through PSEO?

No. Juniors are limited to part-time enrollment even with a 3.5 GPA. Full-time PSEO is reserved for seniors who meet the 3.0 requirement and are admitted through the standard essay, recommendation, and interview process.

Private College

College of Saint Scholastica

Q: How competitive is St. Scholastica's PSEO program?

Genuinely competitive: the program accepts about 40 participants per year, and the application includes a 500-word essay, a recommendation letter, and an interview with the PSEO coordinator. Strong candidates apply early and put real effort into the essay and interview.

Duluth, Minnesota

Forty students a year. That is the size of the PSEO program at the College of St. Scholastica, a private Catholic Benedictine college overlooking Duluth and Lake Superior. The cap makes this one of Minnesota's most selective dual enrollment programs, and the application reflects it: a 500-word essay, a recommendation letter, and an interview with the PSEO coordinator, on top of your transcript.

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GPA Requirements

Juniors (11th Grade)

3.5 GPA

Seniors (12th Grade)

3.0 GPA

Program Details

Accepts 10th GradersNo

CTE Courses AvailableNo

Term Systemsemester

About the PSEO program

The GPA bars are correspondingly high. Juniors need a 3.5 and may attend part-time only, while seniors qualify at 3.0 and can go part-time or full-time. In exchange, admitted students join a college regarded across the region for health sciences and rigorous liberal arts, taking real St. Scholastica courses at no tuition cost through the state's PSEO program.

Because the program is small, the experience is personal. You are not one dual enrollment student among thousands; the coordinator who interviewed you knows your name, and classes at Scholastica run small enough that professors do too. For Duluth-area students with strong grades who want free college classes in a supportive setting, this is the premium option in town.

Why choose College of Saint Scholastica for PSEO

A deliberately small cohort

With participation capped at 40 students annually, PSEO at St. Scholastica feels like membership in a program rather than enrollment in a system, with direct access to the coordinator who admitted you.

Health sciences reputation

St. Scholastica is one of the region's best-known colleges for nursing and health professions, and early credits from a college with that identity carry weight for students headed into healthcare.

An application that lets you make a case

The essay, recommendation, and interview mean you are evaluated as a whole person. Students who interview well and write sincerely can stand out beyond their numbers.

Private college experience in Duluth

Small classes on a wooded campus above Lake Superior offer a distinctly different environment from the larger public options in town, and PSEO makes it free to find out if it fits you.

Programs & courses

Composition and communication
Foundational writing and speaking courses in small sections, the standard on-ramp for PSEO students and reliable transfer credit anywhere.
Biology and chemistry
Rigorous lab sciences at a college that channels many graduates into nursing, physical therapy, and health careers, giving pre-health students an early, honest test of the path.
Psychology and social sciences
Introductory courses that satisfy general education requirements broadly while sampling fields Scholastica teaches with a strong applied bent.
Humanities in the Benedictine tradition
Literature, history, and philosophy coursework grounded in the college's Catholic Benedictine liberal arts core, open to students of all backgrounds.

Campus & getting there

The campus crowns a hillside in Duluth's Kenwood neighborhood, overlooking the city and Lake Superior, about ten minutes from downtown and adjacent to the University of Minnesota Duluth. Students from Duluth East, Denfeld, Marshall, Hermantown, Proctor, and Cloquet are within an easy drive, and Duluth Transit Authority buses serve the Kenwood area. St. Scholastica also offers online coursework, which can extend options for students balancing tight high school schedules.

Will my credits transfer?

St. Scholastica is regionally accredited, and its liberal arts and science credits are accepted broadly, with each receiving institution making its own equivalency calls since private colleges sit outside the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum system. Courses like composition, biology, and psychology typically land cleanly as general education credit at Minnesota's public universities and other privates. Students who stay at Scholastica for their degree, a common choice given its health sciences pipelines, apply every PSEO credit directly.

College of Saint Scholastica PSEO FAQ

Juniors need a 3.5 cumulative GPA and are limited to part-time enrollment. Seniors qualify with a 3.0 and may attend part-time or full-time. Sophomores are not admitted, and meeting the GPA is only the first hurdle since the program admits a limited number of students.