FAQs
What is the background/experience of Insight Education?
Insight Education was founded in 1999.
Co-owners Ajit Jain and Purvi Mody bring together a small but strong group of counselors with decades of experience between them. Insight has offices located in Cupertino, CA, and Newton, MA.
Our mission is to provide personalized and dedicated service to each and every student and family who works with us. Our counseling is one-on-one and flexible to your schedule. We also offer virtual counseling via Skype for students who have busy schedules and would prefer not to meet in the office. Our counselors have worked with over 1500 students not only in Silicon Valley, but in the United States and a number of international students as well.
We also over comprehensive test prep, with SAT and ACT test prep classes as well as one-on-one tutoring available. We also cover AP’s and subject tests.
Why should a student enroll in Counseling at Insight Education?
High School and College Admissions Counseling is a comprehensive program individually tailored around each student and family’s needs and goals. We help with short and long-term planning to build academic study plans, improved time management, social skills, summer schedules, test prep, volunteering profiles, and more. An Insight student and their family have a dedicated and experienced professional who is committed to their short and long-term educational and college admissions goals.
How do we get started with Insight services?
For counseling, you can start by scheduling a 1-hour Initial College Planning Session. Fill out and submit our information form and we will get in contact with you to find a counselor and a time that works for you.
For Test Prep Classes & Boot Camps, you can choose the relevant class dates that work for you, and then contact us to book in. If the class dates don’t fit with your schedule, please let us know so we can see what other options may be available for you.
For one-on-one tutoring, other enrollments like Stanford Online High School Exam Proctoring, Middle School Counseling, Transfers, etc., or for more information regarding our services, please contact us at (855) 942-5051 or email us at info@insight-education.net or fill out our information form and we will get in touch with you.
How can I schedule a consultation with a college admissions counselor?
Are tutoring and counseling sessions offered in-person and online?
We meet with students in-person at our Cupertino office and online to fit busy schedules.
Our office hours are:
- Monday 9am–5pm
- Tuesday 9am-7pm
- Wednesday-Thursday 9am–5pm
- Friday 9am–5pm
- Saturday 9am–5pm
We are closed on Sundays.
Does Insight help students with college essays?
Yes. Our counselors guide students through idea brainstorming, outlining, drafting, editing, and revising essays to ensure an authentic voice and cohesive storytelling across essays in the same application. Most importantly, our goal is to ensure that your authentic voice shines through in all of your essays. Essay support is included in our counseling packages.
Does Insight offer SAT and ACT prep for high school students?
Yes. We provide Digital SAT Intro classes and advanced Boot Camps for both the SAT and the ACT. We also offer SAT/ACT diagnostics and one-on-one tutoring focused on strategy, practice, and progress tracking. Students can choose in-person sessions at our Cupertino office or online options.
Which areas does Insight Education serve?
We work with students across Silicon Valley and the Bay Area from our Cupertino office, and also support families online nationwide and internationally.
Our local areas include Cupertino, Saratoga, West San Jose, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Los Gatos, Palo Alto.
When is the best time for my student to start college planning?
Every student is different, so there is no single right time to begin. For families seeking more thoughtful, long-term strategic guidance, we recommend starting in 9th or 10th grade. Beginning earlier enables our counselors to help students make strategic academic and extracurricular choices as they progress through high school. It also enables us to help students make the most of each high school summer—guiding them toward meaningful, well-matched, and selective opportunities. This long-range approach helps students build a strong, authentic profile and reduces stress during the college admissions process.
There is value added for every student who enrolls in our program, regardless of when they begin. The earlier a student starts, the more strategic and long-term our guidance can be. For students who enroll only for 12th grade/senior year, our focus is on partnering closely with them on every aspect of the college admissions process.
What is the qualification of an Insight instructor?
All of our instructors at least have a BA/BS and are very well experienced in teaching classes and tutoring students. We work closely with our instructors to make sure they are always prepared and able to work with students at all levels.
How much do student scores improve? Do you offer guarantees?
The results vary greatly from student to student depending on how much work they put in in terms of consistent attendance, preparing ahead of time, completing homework assignments, and being attentive and ready for exams and instruction.
At Insight, we do not provide a guarantee because it is very easy to manipulate the guarantee by offering you a harder test on Day 1 and an easy test on the last day, a practice that we firmly believe is a disservice to the student. We want students to be genuinely prepared and feel confident in their abilities, and base our teaching and classes around that philosophy.
Does Insight work with international students?
Yes. We work with international students on every element of their secondary school/high school journey, including academic planning, extra-curricular strategy, selective summer internship applications, tutoring, long-term admissions strategy, college admissions essays, college admissions applications, college admissions interviews, and more. Insight’s counseling program is available both online and in-person at our Cupertino office.
Does Insight work with middle school students?
Yes. We work with middle school students on ISEE, HSPT, and/or SSAT prep, private high school admissions, public vs private high school choice strategy, tutoring, and long-term college admissions strategy. Sessions are available both online and in-person at our Cupertino office.
Does someone need to enroll in the full counseling package?
Over the years we have experimented with our service model and we have come up with the structure that works best for our company. We do understand that some people do not believe they need the comprehensive counseling packages as we offer them and we understand that.
Because our counseling philosophy relies so heavily on the student-counselor relationship, it is imperative that a family engages in a program that allows for the relationship to grow and flourish.
Please contact us to discuss further what services you are looking for.
How do you ensure that you are choosing the right counselor for your student?
We try to assign the counselor who will be the best fit for your child based on the information you provide before the consultation. Every counselor is well-qualified and extremely experienced with students across all ages, high schools, and fields of interest.
Each counseling package begins with a one-hour college meeting with the counselor, student, and parents. This will allow you a chance to get to know the counselor and make sure that the student finds a good fit with them.
Does the student always have a single counselor?
Our goal is to match you with one primary counselor throughout your time with us to build and continue to grow a strong rapport over the course of your son/daughter’s counseling program.
That said, we work as a small team of counselors at Insight and sometimes get second opinions on student essays and have our students do practice interviews with co-counselors to get a fresh perspective from someone who will not be as familiar with the student. We find that this helps the students work to be stronger, and their interview skills to improve as they mirror a real-life scenario.
What is Middle School Counseling and why would a student need that?
Some children are more mature than others but in general, we do not recommend a counseling package at this age.
We typically start with an hourly Middle School Consultation. If you are considering changing high schools, applying to private high schools or have concerns in regards to middle school prep and entrance tests, we recommend doing an hourly middle school consultation. We are very experienced with middle school students and the challenges both they and their parents are facing but we work on an hourly basis.
Following a smooth transition from middle school to high school, we can work with the student for High School Planning and College Admissions Counseling starting with their Freshman Year of High School.
What is the best time to start College Admissions Counseling?
We see piques in demand at the beginning of the school year and in January for 9th – 11th graders.
We have students who begin as early as seventh grade and as late as November of senior year.
We encourage families to begin as early as their child feels ready, which helps them to develop a strong rapport with his or her counselor that builds over several years. Once you do the Initial Consultation, you can decide as a family if this is the right time for you. Some people prefer support throughout high school, and some people are happy with just senior year. It is easy for us to suggest that you enroll today, but that may not be accurate for your family.
It is a personal decision, and you and your child need to do what feels right. An initial counseling meeting of 1 hour will help you make an informed decision, and we are happy to work with you on that.
What academic tutoring options does Insight Education offer in Cupertino?
Insight provides one-on-one academic tutoring in all areas of high school math, biology, chemistry, physics, English, history, writing, and study skills. Sessions are offered in-person at our Cupertino office or online, with flexible scheduling and progress updates for families. Each student begins with a personalized plan to address strengths and areas for growth.
Does Insight Education provide affordable SAT prep classes in the Bay Area?
We offer SAT prep boot camps and customized one-on-one tutoring, both online and at our Cupertino office.
Our programs emphasize realistic SAT Diagnostic tests, learning strategies, and targeted review to maximize score improvement. Seasonal boot camps and promotions are also available.
Should a student join group classes or one-on-one tutoring?
The right option depends on your student’s learning style. Group classes are helpful for shared strategy and practice, while one-on-one tutoring offers customized pacing and targeted support. We provide both formats and will recommend the best fit after a consultation.
How do I choose the right college admissions counselor near me?
A strong college admissions counselor should have years of experience, provide personalized planning and advice tailored to your needs and personality, and follow ethical advising practices. Since 1999, Insight has guided thousands of families from the Bay Area and across the world with academic planning, extracurricular strategy, selective summer internships, college admissions essays, college admissions applications, and college admissions interview preparation. Every student and their parent(s) begin with a one-on-one comprehensive college admissions consultation that covers academics, standardized testing, extracurricular activites and college admissions goals, planning, and timeline.
We are interested in having Insight present at our school or business
We would be delighted to offer our “Art of College Admissions” or other seminar/workshop at your school or business. Please email info@insight-education.net to check availability and find out more.
What college counseling services are available in the Bay Area?
Insight offers personalized, full-service college admissions counseling for students and families in the Bay Area and beyond. Our experienced counselors support students at every stage of the process—from academic and extracurricular planning to selective summer internship applications, strategic college list building, essay guidance, application review, and admissions interview preparation. We work with students in all high school grades, tailoring our approach to each student’s goals, strengths, and timeline. Services are available both in person at our Cupertino office and online.
