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Category: Success Stories

Happy College Signing Day, Insight Class of 2023!

On May 1st, we celebrate our amazing Class of 2023! It has been our privilege as a team to work with the students and families that entrusted us during this process. We are so proud of all the hard work, resilience, creativity, and dedication shown by our students. 

 

Below is a snapshot of some of the colleges our Class of 2023 were accepted to! 

 

As it’s very challenging to fit all the logos of these great schools onto a map, below is a list of schools our Class of 2023 were accepted to and will be attending! A huge congratulations again to our wonderful group of students, and all students that are celebrating #CollegeSigningDay today! 

 

  • Arizona State University
  • Boston College
  • Boston University
  • Bowdoin College
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • Case Western Reserve University
  • Chapman University
  • Cal Poly SLO
  • Cal Poly Pomona
  • Columbia
  • Dartmouth
  • UC Berkeley 
  • UC Irvine
  • UC Davis
  • UCLA 
  • UC San Diego
  • UC Santa Barbara
  • UC Riverside
  • UC Merced
  • UC Santa Cruz
  • University of Southern California (USC)
  • De Anza College 
  • Drexel University
  • Emerson College
  • Florida Institute of Technology
  • Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
  • George Washington University
  • Georgia Tech
  • Indiana Bloomington
  • Harvey Mudd College
  • Northeastern University
  • NYU
  • Northwestern University
  • Oregon State College
  • Ohio State
  • Penn State
  • Purdue
  • Reed College
  • Rice University
  • Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • San Jose State
  • San Diego State
  • San Francisco State
  • Santa Clara University
  • Texas A & M University
  • The University of Texas at Austin
  • Tufts
  • Trinity College
  • University of Colorado Boulder
  • University of Wisconsin – Madison
  • University of Cincinnati – Main Campus
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
  • University of Massachusetts – Amherst
  • University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
  • University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • University of Oregon
  • UPenn
  • University of Portland
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • University of Rochester
  • University of Washington – Seattle
  • Washington University in St Louis (WuStL)
  • Wesleyan University

 

 

Happy College Signing Day, Insight Class of 2022!

On May 1st, we celebrate our amazing Class of 2022! It has been our privilege as a team to work with the students and families that entrusted us during this process. We are so proud of all the hard work, resilience, creativity, and dedication shown by our students. 

 

Below is a snapshot of some of the colleges our Class of 2022 were accepted to! 

 

As it’s very challenging to fit all the logos of these great schools onto a map, below is a list of schools our Class of 2022 were accepted to and will be attending! A huge congratulations again to our wonderful group of students, and all students that are celebrating #CollegeSigningDay today! 

 

  • American University
  • Amherst University
  • Arizona State University
  • Babson College
  • Baylor University
  • Boston University
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • Case Western Reserve University
  • Chapman University
  • Cal Poly SLO
  • Cal State Long Beach
  • Cornell University
  • Colorado State University
  • UC Berkeley 
  • UC Irvine
  • UC Davis
  • UCLA 
  • UC San Diego
  • UC Santa Barbara
  • UC Riverside
  • UC Merced
  • UC Santa Cruz
  • University of Southern California (USC)
  • Denison University
  • De Anza College 
  • Drexel University
  • Emerson College
  • George Washington University
  • Georgia Tech
  • Indiana Bloomington
  • Johns Hopkins
  • MIT
  • Northeastern University
  • NYU
  • Oberlin College
  • Ohio State
  • Penn State
  • Purdue
  • Reed College
  • Rice University
  • Rutgers University
  • San Jose State
  • San Diego State
  • San Francisco State
  • Santa Clara University
  • Syracuse University
  • Texas A & M University
  • The University of Texas at Austin
  • Tufts
  • University of Chicago
  • University of Colorado Boulder
  • University of Wisconsin – Madison
  • University of Cincinnati – Main Campus
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
  • University of Massachusetts
  • University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
  • University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • University of Oregon
  • UPenn
  • University of Portland
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • University of Rochester
  • University of Washington – Seattle
  • Vanderbilt University
  • Washington University in St Louis (WuStL)
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute

 

 

Happy College Signing Day, Insight Class of 2021!

Today, May 1st, 2021, we celebrate our amazing Class of 2021! Even though we can’t celebrate in person, it has been our privilege as a team to work with the students and families that entrusted us during this process. We are so proud of all the hard work, resilience, creativity, and dedication shown by our students. 

 

In one of the toughest years in college admissions, we are proud to announce that we also have a record-breaking moment: 8 of our students will be attending Stanford in the fall. Go Cardinals! All of our students are accepted into their target schools, and as many schools are planning to open up for in-person classes in the fall, we can’t wait for them to experience their new lives on campuses!

 

Below is a snapshot of some of the colleges our Class of 2021 were accepted to! 

 

As it’s very challenging to fit all the logos of these great schools onto a map, below is a list of schools our Class of 2020 were accepted to and will be attending! A huge congratulations again to our wonderful group of students, and all students that are celebrating #CollegeSigningDay today! 

 

  • Arizona State University
  • Cal Poly SLO
  • Columbia
  • UC Berkeley 
  • UC Irvine
  • UC Davis
  • UCLA 
  • UC San Diego
  • UC Santa Barbara
  • UC Riverside
  • UC Merced
  • UC Santa Cruz
  • University of Southern California (USC)
  • Boston University
  • Brown University
  • Case Western
  • Carnegie Mellon
  • Champman University
  • Cornell
  • De Anza College 
  • Drexel
  • Duke
  • Emory
  • Emerson
  • Fordham 
  • Georgetown
  • Indiana Bloomington
  • Johns Hopkins
  • Northwestern
  • NYU
  • Pitzer 
  • Pomona
  • Purdue
  • Reed College
  • Rice 
  • Rochester Institute of Technology
  • San Jose State
  • San Diego State
  • Santa Clara University
  • Saint Louis University – Main Campus
  • Stanford University
  • Syracuse University
  • Tufts
  • Tulane
  • University of Wisconsin – Madison
  • University of Cincinnati – Main Campus
  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
  • University of Massachusetts
  • University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
  • University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
  • University of Oregon
  • University of Texas at Austin 
  • UPenn
  • University of Portland
  • University of Washington – Seattle
  • Villanova University

 

 

Congratulations & Thank You, Class of 2021

As we are wrapping up the 2020-2021 admissions season (and now anxiously waiting with our seniors as results trickle in), all of us at Insight wants to thank our students and families for being resilient, creative, and flexible in the face of all the changes. Most of all, we are grateful to be a part of their college admissions journey.

 

What are our students saying?

“I just got my SAT scores on Friday, and I am happy to let you know that I scored an 800 on both the Biology-M and Math II tests. Thank you so much for your help and constantly encouraging me. Also, please thank the rest of the Insight team for me for providing complimentary practice tests and quickly grading them. That really helped a lot.”

 

“Thank you so much! It has been a pleasure working with you, and I really appreciated your help with the essays and how to convey my passions and goals. I will be sure to let you know as I start getting college admissions decisions.”

 

“2020 has been a unique experience for everyone. Thank you for helping our son meet the challenges of applying to colleges, remotely, over the last long months of senior year. We truly appreciate your help and guidance to our son, and the overall peace you have brought into our home.”

 

 

“I just wanted to thank you again for your help during the college admission process. My family and I have been scrambling to figure out the process for years, and especially coming from an immigrant family and being the first in my family to go to college in the US, there was a lot of pressure but also confusion along the way. You were super helpful and encouraging throughout the process, not only when it came to choosing schools, but figuring out how to apply, so thank you so much for all of the help. Half of the work was on my end, but the other half was definitely everything you helped me with on my essays and application materials (some of which I’ll treasure as pieces of writing for a while —especially that personal statement), so I’m super thankful that I had your help along the way and that everything worked out in the end. I’m so excited for the next four years!

 

“Thank you so much for all your help over the last 4-5 months. I was very nervous about the college application process because of the many different components and essays which had to be written. You helped alleviate a lot of this stress by guiding me through the whole process and providing helpful feedback on all my essays.”

 

“We wanted to thank you for your support and hard work during the last few years and especially during this home stretch of school applications. We are glad that our son got an opportunity to work with you.”

 

college application advice from undergrad admissions office

“I really enjoyed working with you on the essays, and I’m beyond grateful for your help and support. As of now, I have only gotten back one decision – an acceptance from UPitt. I’ll make sure to update you on the other schools when they begin to come out.”

 

“Thank you so much for helping me formulate my thoughts into words and help me write my essays. I got into Ut Austin for biology – still waiting for the Honors decision. I also got into Drexel undergrad – still waiting for the BSMD decision. I will be sure to update you when I hear more decisions back.”

 

“Thank you SO MUCH PURVI! I can’t even begin to thank you for what you’ve done for me. I really couldn’t have gotten here without you. In shock. Thank you x10000000000000! I have the best college counselor in the world! And, btw (for the record)- you made my LIFE!!!!! truly!!!!!

P.S. Planning to accept the Harvard offer of admission tomorrow – talked it over with family, and am positive I want to go!”

 

“All my college applications are submitted! I have double-checked my portals and the colleges have everything they need except for my mid-year report, which will be sent by the school soon. I will continue to look for interviews, events, virtual visits, etc. in order to further my interest in schools. Also, I wanted to let you know I sincerely appreciate all your help during this process. You made it much easier for me to understand and assisted me in gaining inspiration for my essays, along with many other things.”

Happy College Signing Day, Insight Class of 2020!

Today, May 1st, 2020, we celebrate our amazing Class of 2020! 

 

Even though we can’t celebrate in person, it has been our privilege as a team to work with the students and families that entrusted us during this process. We are so proud of all the hard work, resilience, and dedication shown by Insight’s Class of 2020. 

 

Below is a snapshot map of some of the colleges our Class of 2020 will be attending in the Fall! Many colleges are starting virtual in Fall, so unfortunately our students won’t have a chance to experience their first year on campus. But we really hope that they have a memorable, unique time and share their thoughts with us!

 

 

Below is a snapshot of some of the colleges our Class of 2020 were accepted to! 

 

 

 

As it’s very challenging to fit all the logos of these great schools onto a map, below is a list of schools our Class of 2020 were accepted to and will be attending! A huge congratulations again to our wonderful group of students, and all students that are celebrating #CollegeSigningDay today! 

  • American University
  • Arizona State
  • Baylor 
  • Barnard College
  • Cal Poly SLO
  • Columbia
  • UC Berkeley 
  • UC Irvine
  • UC Davis
  • UCLA 
  • UC San Diego
  • UC Santa Barbara
  • UC Riverside
  • UC Merced
  • UC Santa Cruz
  • Boston University
  • Brown 
  • Carnegie Mellon 
  • Case Western
  • Champman University
  • Cornell
  • De Anza College 
  • Drexel
  • Duke
  • Emory
  • Emerson
  • Fordham 
  • Harvard 
  • Georgetown
  • Indiana Bloomington
  • Johns Hopkins
  • Loyola Marymount
  • MIT
  • Middlebury
  • Northwestern
  • NYU
  • Pitzer 
  • Pomona
  • Purdue
  • Reed College
  • Rice 
  • San Jose State
  • San Diego State
  • Santa Clara University
  • St. Mary’s College
  • Stanford
  • Syracuse University
  • Temple
  • Tufts
  • Tulane
  • University of Chicago
  • Univeristy of Colorado Boulder
  • University of Florida
  • University of Maryland 
  • University of Massachusetts
  • University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
  • University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
  • Univeristy of Oregon
  • University of Texas at Austin 
  • UPenn
  • University of Portland
  • University of Washington
  • UIUC
  • Vanderbilt
  • Yale
  • Washington University
  • Wake Forest University 

 

 

Happy College Signing Day, Insight Class of 2019!

Today, May 1st, 2019, we celebrate our amazing Class of 2019! 

 

It has been our privilege as a team to work with the students and families that entrusted us during this process. We are so proud of all the hard work and dedication shown by our Class of 2019. 

 

Below is a snapshot map of some the colleges our Class of 2019 will be attending in the Fall! It looks like some California based students are ready for the snow over on the East Coast, while our Boston based students are looking forward to some sunshine here in Ca! 

 

Below is a snapshot of some of the colleges our Class of 2019 were accepted too! 

 

As it’s very challenging to fit all the logos of these great schools onto our map, below is a list of schools our Class of 2019 were accepted to and will be attending! A huge congratulations again to our wonderful group of students, and all students that are celebrating #CollegeSigningDay today! 

  • American University
  • Arizona State
  • Baylor 
  • Cal Poly Slo 
  • Columbia
  • UC Berkeley 
  • UC Davis
  • UCLA 
  • UC San Diego
  • UC Santa Barbara
  • UC Riverside
  • UC Merced
  • UC Santa Cruz
  • Boston University
  • Brown 
  • Carnegie Mellon 
  • Case Western
  • Cornell
  • De Anza College 
  • Drexel
  • Duke
  • Emory
  • Fordham 
  • Harvard 
  • Georgetown
  • Indiana Bloomington
  • Johns Hopkins
  • MIT
  • Middlebury
  • Northwestern
  • NYU
  • Pitzer 
  • Pomona
  • Purdue
  • Rice 
  • San Jose State
  • San Diego State
  • Santa Clara University
  • Smith College
  • St. Mary’s College
  • Stanford
  • Temple
  • Tufts
  • Tulane
  • University of Chicago
  • University of Florida
  • University of Maryland 
  • University of Massachusetts
  • The University of Texas at Austin 
  • University of Portland
  • University of Washington
  • UIUC
  • Vanderbilt
  • Yale
  • Washington University

 

 

2018 – What A Year!

The holiday season is a great time to pause and reflect on the year that has been. 2018 has been a wonderful, busy year for Team Insight and our students!

Below are some of the highlights and success of our students in the college admissions process: 

 

“Zach, I can’t thank you enough for your guidance throughout the college application process. I knew nothing about half of the schools I applied to when we started. This includes the college that became my top choice. Now 3 months into freshman year, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.  Thank you for everything!”

“I GOT INTO MIDDLEBURY!!!!! So far you’re the only person I’ve told since no one else in my house is awake :)” 

“Thank you Purvi!  We are so proud of him, he has overcome a lot in the last few years and we can’t thank you enough for all your guidance and encouragement”

“Thank you so much for helping me become a confident and successful writer. My essays today look nothing like the first drafts I was sending you over the summer. Thanks again, Zach”

“I matched to Amherst College! Thank you sooooo much for all your help with my application. I got a full Questbridge scholarship!” 

Many of our students have been enjoying acceptances to their ED and EA schools in December 2018! We have had the privilege of seeing the students as they open their portals to see their results – lots of happy dancing in our office when that happens! 

“Just wanted to say a quick thank you for your help on the SAT essay — I got a 22/24 on my SAT Essay! :))”

“Thanks so much Amy, the congratulations really means a lot! I’m really excited to start at UCSD in the fall and all the help I got from you and Insight, in general, played a huge role. I’ll be sure to keep in touch. Once, again thanks for all of your help!”

“Thank you to the amazing and patient front desk team for answering panicked parents calls this college admissions season!”  

Thank you SO MUCH PURVI! I can’t even begin to thank you for what you’ve done for me. I really couldn’t have gotten here without you. In shock. Thank you x10000000000000! I have the best college counselor in the world

Thank you again for coming through for him in a big way and for our family. We didn’t have to worry about a thing and slept through this year not worrying about college apps at all when we know our peers were losing sleep -and it is all because of you. Thank you!!! 

 

Our tutoring and class students had a great year as well! A snapshot of some of the highlights include: 

One of our amazing and hardworking tutoring students scored a 35 on his ACT!

After taking an SAT Boot Camp, this student increased her SAT score from 1200 to 1580! 

This student worked with Insight over many years in both counseling and classes, and combined with her hard work and determination she scored a 36 on the ACT!

 

Team Insight also celebrated some milestones for our staff! 

Our rockstar Newton counselor Zach Pava celebrated his 5 year anniversary with Insight in May! We asked Zach what his highlight of 2018 is, and his answer “Some of my nicest moments were seeing the completed cycle of graduating seniors who I started with as freshman back in 2014-15. It’s amazing to see how . far they came and how much they grew from 9th – 12th and I’m excited that so many students continue to stay in touch in college”. 

Counselor Sarah de Sousa was published (again!) this year! Sarah is the first author of the chapter “The Dance of Presence: Mindfulness and Movement” in the book Psychotherapy, Literature and the Visual and Performing Arts. 

We hosted our first Summer Internship and Programs fair at Insight in Cupertino this November and had 8 wonderful organizations attend and present to our students. This was a great event and we look forward to continuing to connect students and the community with educational programs each year. 

Another exciting moment this year has been moving into our new Boston office, located at 288 Walnut Street in Newton, MA. Counselor Zach Pava heads up our Newton office. We’re excited to continue working with students in the greater Boston area through their college admissions journeys! 

 

All of us at Team Insight feel blessed to work with all the many amazing students and families that we do. Next year, in 2019, we will be celebrating our 20th anniversary! 

 

Here’s to another amazing year. 

Happy Holidays!
Team Insight 

 

What are students saying about the Insight Test Prep?

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Insight SAT test prep student testimonial

 

 

“There was a practice exam every class, and I enjoyed the focus on reviewing the practice exams.” – Student from our 2020 SAT Boot Camp (Online).

 

“The teachers were really engaging and nice! The feedback on my essays was useful, and I liked the private sessions meeting with them one-on-one.” – Student from our 2020 ACT Boot Camp (Online).

 

 

“I was happy that we were able to review the test material thoroughly each time.” – Student from our 2021 ACT Boot Camp (Online).

 

 

“I like that there was a full explanation of each question we went over, with no prior knowledge needed. I was able to see how to use the topics of what I learned in school.” – Student from our 2021 SAT Test Prep.

 

 

“After I took Insight’s SAT Boot Camp, I got a 1570 on my SAT! 800 on Math!” – Insight Alumn

It was a great year for Insight Students!

2017 has been a wonderful year for our Insight students, with many getting into the top college of their choice or scoring the SAT/ ACT Score of their dreams! Below are some notes from our students as they celebrate their success. 

I took an Insight SAT Boot Camp, and afterward, I got 1570 on the SAT!!!! 800 MATH and 770 READING!!!!

#NYUSTERNCLASSOF2022 THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING I CAN BARELY TYPE IM SO EXCITED AND I WOULDNT BE HERE WITHOUT YOU GUYS SO THANK YOU! 

Thank you so much for all your help throughout the college application process. My parents and I really appreciate your constant support and encouragement. Your smiling face and kind attitude made me feel comfortable from the day I met you! 

It’s official! I could not have this without your help. Your help has meant so much to me and there was no way I could have gotten into my top choice without you. Thank you again, Zach.

I am truly loving college, and there have been so many times when I think, “what would Sarah advise me to do right now?” You have really taught me how to live through my values; you have given me the strength to take risks to grow, and helped me enjoy the journey of learning. I am so lucky that you happened to be my counselor. 

Purvi’s expertise & guidance helped our daughter get accepted to schools of her choice, one actually offered a full scholarship!

I got into UIUC yesterday for math & cs! Thanks for all of your help, because I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.

Dear Jenny, You have been a big help to us with the college app process. Thanks for your guidance and support!

This was the best experience ever! Purvi is so friendly and she really knows her stuff. She helped me to edit my personal statements for UCs. She even made sure that the number of words does not exceed the word limit. She paid attention to every single detail and she made me feel way more relaxed and confident. The result was good as well, I got into UC Berkeley! 

The Archeology of Success

A student of mine had just been admitted to her dream school, a school that we both knew was not a guarantee by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, she explained that when she first shared the news with her friends, she heard someone nearby whispering, “Wow, she got in where?!? I didn’t know she was that smart.”

Overhearing this comment, even in the midst of her excitement and overwhelming joy at the life changing news she had just received, launched her into a tailspin so that by the time we met the following Friday, she started the meeting by asking me to confirm if the school she had been admitted to was actually a competitive brand name school or if maybe it was easier to get into than she had thought. Just to prove a point, I showed her that her school ranks among the top 15 schools in the United States, right next to Cornell and Brown, according to US News and World Report.

I spend much of my life and work convincing families that there is much more to the college experience and to the value of any given school than ranking, but this seemed to be a case in which ranking was actually useful! In the weeks leading up to this decision, this same student had scoured her application, even AFTER it had been submitted for any possible errors. Each week that we met between when the application went in and the decision came out, she had a new question about some feature of her application that wasn’t quite right. And now, even though she had been admitted, she was already beginning to doubt the magnitude of her own accomplishment. She’s starting to sound a little crazy, but she isn’t.

We ALL do this. In fact, I think we can all relate to scouring something after there’s nothing we can do for that one little typo, particularly when the stakes are high. And imagine how we feel and behave when we do find a typo, which is often the case because of that persistent pest called imperfection that seems to plague the human experience: we fixate, obsess and justify this whole process with idea that there’s always something to learn from failure and that’s what makes it tolerable.

But, imagine for a second if rather than a negativity bias, the human brain were biased toward fixation on the positive. In this alternate universe, the student and I would have spent the weeks of waiting for her decision relishing this word choice, that effective use of punctuation, savoring the beauty of her writing and marveling at the authenticity and self-awareness present in her essays. And though that alternate universe is not the one in which we live, because in fact the brain is like Teflon for positive experience and Velcro for negative experience (see Rick Hanson), we do have the power to tip the scales ever so slightly in the other direction through conscious effort.

What I suggested to my student is that she owed it to herself to treat this success with the same “enthusiasm” and rigor she would treat a major (or minor) life failure. That is, I know that she would have Monday morning quarterbacked for days, weeks, months if she hadn’t gotten in. Every detail she scrutinized before she even knew the outcome of her application would be rehashed, reassessed for its role in this failure, and countless other possible explanations for the rejection would be explored.

So, I suggested she do the same kind of archeological dig on her own success. Borrowing from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley’s exercise called Mental Subtraction of Positive Events, I urged her to write down all the complex events, all of the people in her support network, all of the inner qualities and personal strengths that culminated in this incredible moment of recognition and fulfillment. I also asked her to reflect on how things might have turned out differently if one tiny detail in the vast interconnected web of events that led to this single moment hadn’t happened in just the way that it did.

The point here is not to induce fear, but wonder at the exquisite fragility and abundant serendipity present in the story of our own success. It usually follows that from this sense of wonder and awe emerges a natural impulse to give thanks. I encouraged my student to remember the people who had helped her, but also to take this moment to express gratitude to herself for having the courage, persistence and grit to arrive where she is today. She loved the exercise so much that she added the idea of listing some of the failures and negative experiences that had been part of her journey so that she could integrate them into the story of her success.

Each day of our lives, we have the opportunity to do this: to drop one small and brilliant nugget of gold into the positive side of the scale whenever we are willing to take the time to savor the good in our lives, small and large. If you think you don’t have time, get honest with yourself about how much time you already spend ruminating about the small failures in your recent past or planning to protect yourself from shame and embarrassment in a future that hasn’t even happened yet. We have time, you have time, to uncover, polish and delight in the treasure of your own life.

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