College Awareness Day on Oct. 14 at Palo Alto High School will feature a new “gift of time” for the underclassmen. In previous years, this day has been focused on the seniors and preparing them for college and their college applications.

According to Assistant Principal Vicki Kim, freshmen and sophomores will have “flex time” to perform any tasks they need to do, whether that be coming to school to ask teachers questions, staying at home to catch up on homework, or performing errands.

“We want students to feel empowered to use this time to their benefit,” Kim said in an email to Verde. “Our hope is that students will appreciate having this gift of time.”

Juniors will be taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test, a nationwide test from The College Board that serves as a trial run for the official SAT. In addition, the PSAT is an opportunity for students to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship.

According to Kim, there will be college application and essay workshops, and even a money management seminar for seniors.