High School & College Admissions Counseling
College Admissions begins on your first day of high school. Every decision you make moving forward will influence your path to college!
FRESHMAN ADVANTAGE

We are so excited to help guide you on your journey throughout high school. Our goal is to get to know you well, help you to explore your academic and social interests, and encourage you to try new things beyond your comfort zone. We want you to be open to new ideas while striving to increase your ability and interest in areas you already enjoy. As we plan your academic path, we will help you build intellectual curiosity, develop your time management and study skills, and stress the importance of communication in one-on-one and group settings, especially with regard to your teachers and peers.
You can choose to enroll in Freshman Advantage Counseling Program for:
- 2 years (Grade: 9th-10th)
- 3 years (Grade: 9th-10th-11th)
- 4 years (Grade: 9th-10th-11th-12th)
SOPHOMORE EDGE

The Sophomore Edge is about exploration, planning, and commitment. It begins with better time management and study skills firmly in place as a carryover from the Freshman Advantage package. Now you and your counselor will focus on more intelligent decision-making techniques. Your counselor will provide expert-level academic support and help you plan your courses at school, in the summer, and online. This is also the year to begin planning for your standardized tests like the PSAT, SAT, ACT, Subject Test, and AP Exams. Rounding out your Sophomore Edge program, we focus on leadership success and planning for a significant summer experience that allows you to develop your future interests, learn responsibility, and understand how to work as part of a team.
You can choose to enroll in Sophomore Edge Counseling Program for:
- 2 years (Grade: 10th-11th)
- 3 years (Grade: 10th-11th-12th)
JUNIOR DISTINCTION

The Junior Distinction program begins with a heightened emphasis on academic excellence and standardized testing needs with careful attention to your individual college goals. Your leadership success training will continue both within school hours and on your own time as you grow into a mature, contributing member of the community. As college application season draws near, we know how important it is for students to narrow their major choices, conduct in-depth research, schedule campus visits, and apply to summer internships.
Summer Internships
The process of identifying, selecting, and applying to summer internships is likely more daunting then college admissions. This is because internships are not raked or curated by one or a few sources like US News. Students and their parents are peppered with promotional materials of Summer Colleges, Exchange Programs, Volunteer experiences, and more. How to choose? Is pay as you go ok? Do colleges assign value to these?
As Insight we work to first identify your personality and how it plays with your academic interests in order to identify a subset of summer experiences that would be best suited for you. We think of the summer program/internships process as a mini-college admissions journey. You will secure teacher recommendations, you will write essays, and assemble and submit your completed applications. Insight will be there from start to finish to support you throughout the process.
- Junior Distinction Counseling Program is a 2-year program spread across 11th and 12th grade.
SENIOR INSIGHT

In the senior year, the scope of our program expands to include the full range of tasks associated with the complex and sometimes daunting process of applying to college. At Insight, we believe the process of applying to college holds intrinsic value in the form of self-reflection and values clarification. We work with our students not only as experts in producing polished applications, but as coaches at this critical juncture on the lifelong journey of learning about the world and one’s place within it. Experience has taught us that the most compelling applications emerge when students embrace the admissions process as an opportunity to know themselves more fully. In so doing, our students are also better prepared to meet the challenges of the college environment. Likewise, we are committed to identifying schools that are the best fit for each student’s educational and long-term goals.
We also specialize in:
- Athletic Admissions
- Visual and Performing Arts Admissions
- Combined Medical (BA/BS-MD) Admissions
- Combined Dental (BA/BS-DDS) Admissions
- Combined Pharmacy Admissions
- Medical School Admissions
- Law School Admissions
You can choose to enroll in our Admissions Insight Counseling Program (Live or Online) as follows:
- Silver package
- Gold package
- Platinum package
Schedule your 1-hour college planning session (Live or Online)
Our Workshops and Clinics (In-person or Online by Zoom)
We host more than 20 unique clinics and workshops (offered in-person or by Zoom for remote clients) for Insight counseling students and parents. These are led by our expert college counseling team.
Some of our past clinics include:
– Demystifying College Essays
– UC, Common, Coalition and Cal State Application Workshops
– Nail your College Interviews
– What to Expect in Admissions for Parents
– Financial Aid
– Cover Letter and Resume Workshop
– Managing your Social Media
– Demonstrating Talent: Portfolios
– Demonstrating Talent: Athletics
– Alternative Majors to Computer Science
– Major Decisions
– So, You Want to be a Doctor?
And many, many more!
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How to Build Your College List
May 20, 2022
There are so many college ranking systems – US News might be the most famous one in the USA, but there are also lists from the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, just to name a few. Can’t you just copy/paste a colle..
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College Facts Friday: Georgia Tech
May 12, 2022
In this week’s #CollegeFactsFriday, we are heading to Atlanta to learn more about Georgia Institute of Technology (aka. Georgia Tech). 1. A coin toss at graduation? In 1890, the first two engineers graduated from Georgia Tech. To decide wh..
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Recommendation Letters: the Great vs. the Not-So-Good
May 4, 2022
Letters of recommendation can play a key role in the college admissions process. Many colleges, especially private universities, view their applicants holistically. They want to know who you are as a “whole person,” rather than focusing on only y..
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Happy College Signing Day, Insight Class of 2022!
April 30, 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 b..
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College Facts Friday: UC Davis
April 29, 2022
Happy Friday! You know what this means – YES, another round of quick #CollegeFacts! This week we are checking out one of the UCs. Located less than an hour away from the California state capital, UC Davis has a lot to offer. A fan of Tolkien..
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3 Insight Tips to Stress Management
April 27, 2022
As you progress through high school, you may start picking harder courses, taking on leadership roles in your extracurricular activities, and working on challenging projects over the summer. You are probably even doing all of these while trying to fi..
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Waitlist and Appeal – What Should You Do?
March 9, 2022
We always look forward to this time of year filled with excitement — the time when college decisions are released. It marks years of hard work and dedication. It also brings with it hope for the future and a new beginning. And while we celebrate ac..
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What You Need to Know About Advanced Placements (APs)
February 23, 2022
If you or anyone in your family are currently in high school, you must have heard of Advanced Placement (AP) classes or exams. From AP tests vs. AP classes to how many APs should you take, in this article, Insight’s Head of College Admissions Couns..
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5 Important Questions to Ask When You Plan Your Summer
January 10, 2022
Summer activities are a crucial part of the college evaluation process. Colleges want to see what high school students do with their long breaks and free time. Outside of the more-confined, structured school year, the activities you choose to pursue ..
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College Facts Friday: Lehigh University
January 6, 2022
It’s another #CollegeFactsFriday! This week, we are heading to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to learn more about Lehigh University. 1. Lehigh University’s Taylor Stadium was the third concrete stadium in the United States. It was built ..
UPCOMING TEST
PREP CLASSES
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13June
SAT Pinnacle 2 (21-Days!)
9.30am
Online
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5July
SAT Summer Boot Camp 2
9am - 5.30pm
Cupertino
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11June
SAT Summer Boot Camp 1 (Online)
9.30am - 12.45pm
Online
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14June
ACT Summer Boot Camp 1
9am - 6.15pm
Cupertino
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13June
21-Day SAT Pinnacle 1
9am
Cupertino
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13June
ACT Summer Boot Camp 3
9am - 6.15pm
Cupertino
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11June
SAT Summer Boot Camp 1
9am - 5.30pm
Cupertino
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13June
SAT Advantage Summer Session 2
9.30am - 12:45pm
Online
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13June
SAT Advantage Summer Session 1
9am - 3.45pm
Cupertino
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18June
ACT Summer Boot Camp 4
9am - 6.15pm
Cupertino
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8July
SAT Advantage Summer Session 3
9am - 3.45pm
Cupertino
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14June
ACT Summer Boot Camp 2
9.30am - 12.45pm
Online
What Are Insight Students & Parents saying?
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I liked the structured method by which Zach approached the whole admission process. First, there was research into colleges to make a list,
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Priya was absolutely amazing to work with! We are thrilled that our son got into his top choice for college at LMU for the undergraduate bus
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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 – stil
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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
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I really couldn’t have gotten to Harvard without you. In shock. Thank you x10000000000000! I have the best college counselor in the wo
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I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time out of your day to organize a meeting with me and help me in writing my summer program es
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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 s
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Our ACT instructor methods were so helpful and wonderful to have.
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Zach, thank you so much for helping me become a confident and successful writer
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We were extremely happy throughout the process – got much more than what we invested in Insight counseling.