Starting this year, Palo Alto High School English teachers will utilize Tutorial periods to provide assistance to seniors on their college application essays, according to English Instructional Supervisor Shirley Tokheim.

During these sessions, seniors will receive feedback, have time to work quietly and be exposed to a variety of ways to approach their essays.

“The college application season is upon us, and many students face Nov. 1 deadlines or Nov. 30 deadlines for UCs [Universities of California],” Tokheim said. “I’ve worked privately with students on writing college essays for many years, so I thought it would be a good idea to use Tutorial to offer seniors some guidance and feedback.”

In addition, all seniors in the fall semester will take time in their English classes to work on narratives that can be used for college admission essays, according to Tokheim. These narratives will aid students who have yet to begin crafting their essays.

Senior Elias Fedel looks forward to these college application sessions.

“I think that this will be beneficial to many seniors, especially if they are having trouble starting their essays or don’t have college counselors to write it with,” Fedel said.