On the Oct. 17 Gold Day, freshmen will take the PLAN test while sophomores and juniors will take the PSAT in their assigned testing rooms from 7:50 to 11:03 a.m. According to assistant principal Brad Sever, the day will then proceed with a regular Period 3 from 11:13 a.m. to 1:23 p.m. Afterwards, students will attend a shortened Period 1 from 1:33 to 2:14 p.m. and a shortened Period 4 from 2:24 to 3:05 p.m. There will be no SRT, and lunches will run as normal. Freshmen not testing will stay in the freshman cafeteria, and juniors not testing will stay in the main cafeteria.

Sever said seniors this year will participate in a three-cycle rotation instead of the ASVAB test they took during previous years. Some feedback that he and administrators received last year showed that the test might be more useful for sophomores and juniors. Directors and associate directors of admission from a variety of Indiana colleges and universities will come to talk to the seniors in the varsity gym, Dale E. Graham Auditorium and fieldhouse about financial literacy during college, college life and admissions. The rotations will last about 50 minutes each with a 10- minute break in between rotations. The first rotation will be from 7:50 to 8:55 a.m., the second from 9:05 to 9:55 a.m. and the last from 10:10 to 11:03 a.m.

“I hope that students will also see some differences between some of the colleges and will be able to hone in on the colleges and universities that they will consider for themselves,” Sever said.

According to Sever, announcements will be made this week on how to obtain tickets to a special first-come-first-serve opportunity will be offered for 120 students wanting to attend an alternative session with Akina Younge, assistant admissions director from Yale University. Sever said she will be answering questions on the admissions process, discussing the order of importance of grades and leadership and explaining what makes a student stand out. This session will take place in the media center classrooms one and two and will be at the same time as the other rotations.

Sever said he hopes this year the PSAT day will go as smoothly as the previous years and yield as good results.

“I always hope that students not only score well, but we’re doing everything within our control at Carmel High School to make sure their transition to college as pleasant as possible,” Sever said.

Click here for the PSAT schedule.