College & Career Center

The Associate of Arts (A.A.) Degree Pathway enables students to take college level courses and graduate from Burnsville High School with both their diploma and a 2-year A.A. college degree.

Learn more at  The Associate of Arts (A.A.) Degree Pathway

Nationwide, over 90 percent of the colleges that most Advanced Placement candidates have attended give credit and/or advanced placement to students whose Advanced Placement Examination grades are considered acceptable. Social Studies and Mathematics offer courses that prepare students to take Advanced Placement Examinations in these areas. Examinations are also offered in numerous other curricular areas. Examinations are ordered in April and are administered in May. A student who is interested should see a counselor. Students may take advanced placement courses without sitting for the examinations. 

Check out the Burnsville High School Course Catalog for Advanced Placement offerings.

Students may gain college credit for satisfactory completion in a variety of College-in-the-Schools (CIS) courses, in cooperation with the University of Minnesota. Students may also earn college credit through Inver Hills Community College (In-School / In-Prep), Normandale Community College (Business) and Hennepin Technical College (Automotive).

For more information see the Minnesota Office of Education

District 191 secondary schools offer AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), a college prep program designed to increase the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges. AVID serves all students by ensuring they acquire the organizational and study skills needed for them to be successful. Students learn academic strategies to develop critical thinking skills and ask probing questions.

AVID Goals

• Accelerate under-achieving students who have potential into more rigorous courses
• Teach academic and social skills not targeted in other classes
• Provide intensive support with in-class tutors and a strong student/teacher relationship
• Create a positive peer group for students
• Develop a sense of hope and personal achievement through hard work and determination

AVID is also available as an elective course for students. Use of AVID teaching methods, such as Cornell note-taking and group collaboration, takes place in all classes and creates a college-going culture across all schools, so that every student benefits from this renowned national program.

For more information about and resources to AVID programming, visit www.avid.org.

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College Possible is making college admission and success possible for low-income students through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support. 

Coaches, serving as AmeriCorps members, guide high school students through all of the key aspects of preparing for college during after-school sessions for two hours twice a week. Over the course of their junior and senior years, students complete 320 hours of curriculum in a supportive group of college-bound peers.

The junior curriculum orients students to the college application process, provides extensive preparation for the ACT/SAT exam, introduces students to college life through campus tours and allows time for students to apply for summer enrichment opportunities.

The senior curriculum leads students through the college application process, assists students in applying for financial aid and scholarships and guides students through the transition to college.

College Possible high school graduates are coached through the transition to college and are supported all the way through college graduation. Their coaches, serving as AmeriCorps members, prepare them to be financially literate students with great study skills, ready to face the common obstacles to graduation.

College Possible service members, along with current College Possible students when possible, introduce younger students to the possibilities of college and provide them with steps to prepare.

Upward Bound is a federally funded TRIO (college access) program that helps students get into college and be prepared to succeed once they arrive. It is free to join and students get paid to participate. Upward Bound's goal is to ensure every student gets admitted, enrolls, and graduates successfully from college.

Learn more about Upward Bound.

Upward Bound students receive the following services:

• ACT prep 
• Help with homework/tutoring
• College and career advising 
• Help completing college applications
• College visits
• Help finding financial aid and scholarships
• Fee waivers for standardized test and college applications
• Free education and tourism trip all over the country 
• Free school supplies
• Student can earn a stipend of up to $450 per year

During the school year:

• All students meet 2x/week (after school) for ACT + college prep
• Monthly 1:1 advising meetings
• Monthly Saturday workshops
• College visits for seniors
• Occasional evening family workshops

During the summer:

• 5-week program on the DCTC campus
• We provide transportation to and from BHS as well as lunch and breakfast each day
• 1-week trip

To be eligible to join Upward Bound you need to be going into 9th grade or 10th grade when you apply (but you stay enrolled in the program through 12th grade) in addition to meeting 1 of the following:

• Meet income guidelines as determined by the Department of Education
• Have parents that have not earned a 4-year degree

Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) is a program that allows 10th-12th-grade students to earn both high school and college credit while still in high school, through enrollment in and successful completion of college-level, nonsectarian courses at eligible participating postsecondary institutions.

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