Catalyst Program

More Than College Counseling

Admissions Strategy • Leadership Mentorship • Project Execution • Student Development & Coaching

2,000+ Acceptances I 86%+ Ivy / Top-25 | 95%+ Top-50 | $30M+ Merit Scholarships

Apply for 1:1 counseling

7 spots remaining. With more than half of my current students in 10th grade or below, availability in future admission cycles is increasingly limited.

William Chung | Ivy League & Top-25 Admissions Strategist & Mentor | Former President & Head of College Counseling | #1 in Education on USA Today | Forbes, Bloomberg, CNBC | 4x Inc. 5000

*Last 5 admissions cycles (2021-2026). The "Ivy/Top-25" statistic is for "intended major" which includes universities whose overall rank falls outside the Top 25 but have specific majors that rank among the nation's best (ex. #31 NYU; #5 Business, #34 UIUC; #6 Engineering).

Keep scrolling to explore ⬇️

What's Included

Approach & Philosophy

Results & Testimonials

Why Start Now

For parents of 6th–12th graders: I work selectively 1:1 with families through my Catalyst Program (College Counseling & Strategic Mentorship).

My work goes far beyond traditional college counseling. I combine admissions strategy with strategic mentorship, drawing on 15+ years as a counselor, executive, and operator to help students maximize their potential, stand out to top universities, and succeed beyond admissions.

1

Admissions Strategy & Positioning

Academics, extracurriculars, summer opportunities, programs/internships, applications, interviews, essays.

2

Leadership & Strategic Mentorship

Prioritization, problem-solving, communication, strategic thinking, leadership, decision-making.

3

Project Development & Execution

Turning ideas into stronger research, competition submissions, startups, nonprofits, measurable outcomes.

4

Student Coaching & Development

Accountability, executive function, confidence, resilience, judgment, sustainable high performance.

5

Thought Partnership for Parents

Cutting through noise, understanding what matters, making better long-term decisions.

The Problem Every Parent Faces When Choosing a College Counselor

Every college counseling company can claim strong admissions results. And almost every company can say they help with research, leadership, summer programs, internships, extracurriculars, essays, applications, and more.

But those claims (many overpromise, but underdeliver) don't answer the question that actually matters, which is:

Do I wholeheartedly trust the person who will be guiding my child and advising my family on the decisions we make?

Because you're not simply hiring someone to help with "college admissions."

You're trusting someone to help shape decisions around:

Courses. Interests. Summers. Research. Competitions. Leadership. Projects. Opportunities. Priorities. College strategy. And most importantly, your child's growth and development.

The challenge isn't knowing what options exist.

It's knowing which options matter, in what order, and at what time, for your child.

  • What classes should my child take?
  • Which matters more: stronger grades or more APs?
  • Which summer programs are actually worth pursuing?
  • Should they do research? What if they don't enjoy research?
  • Do they need to volunteer, play music, or participate in a sport?
  • What do Ivy League and other highly selective universities actually look for?

The right guidance can help a student discover what they care about, develop real expertise, pursue stronger opportunities, build confidence, make better decisions, and ultimately become far more competitive.

The wrong guidance can mean spending months, or even years, heading in the wrong direction.

And those decisions compound.

You can change the plan.
You can change the strategy.
You can even change the counselor.

But you can't go back and redo a grade, a class, a program, or an application.

That's why choosing the right person who advises your family is one of the most important educational decisions you will make for your child.

The question isn't whether a counseling company offers everything your child needs.

It's whether you trust the person advising your child to know what they actually need.

98%+

Year-Over-Year Renewal Rate

Maintained over the last 5 years while working 1:1 with ~200 students per year

The standard I've held for 15+ years

“Outside of you, Mom and Dad, I promise you there will not be another person who cares more about your child's future than I will.”

— William Chung

I've said this to every family I worked with and it is the standard that I've always held myself to.

From parents just like you

“You wear too many hats for a college counselor :)”

“His discussion with you was very helpful.” — Divya, parent

Sent after a strategy conversation with her son about his business proposal. He later became a finalist in a national innovation competition.

Recent Family Outcomes

  1. Sa SK — Saw my work firsthand across dozens of families in her community. Both of her children were admitted to Stanford, two years apart.
  1. Mugdha — Both daughters were admitted to their top-choice Ivy League programs in Computer Science and Engineering, three years apart.
  1. Kai — 70%+ acceptance rate across 30+ universities, including Ivy League and Top-25 schools, plus $500,000+ in merit scholarships including full-rides. Ultimately chose UC Berkeley.
  1. Chirdeep — Her daughter entered 10th grade overwhelmed and spread too thin. After refocusing and building greater depth, she was admitted to her dream reach school, UCLA, from a pool of 145,000+ applicants.
  1. Yihchih — His son was admitted to an Ivy League university for pre-med and later earned medical-school acceptances from Yale, Penn, and Columbia.

These are only a small sample. 100+ additional 5-star reviews and video testimonials are available upon request and can be shared with qualified families during the evaluation process.

15+ years of 1:1 counseling & leadership, executive, and operator-level experience behind the advice.

William Chung is Founder of Top 25 Strategy Lab and was the former President & Head of College Counseling at Zenith Prep Academy.

As an executive/operator from 2020-2025, I scaled Zenith Prep Academy from 200 → ~3,000 students/year in 40+ states while maintaining strong admissions outcomes, exceptional client satisfaction, high employee satisfaction, and a sterling reputation.

When I stepped down in March 2025, Zenith had:

Become a 4x Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private company in America

Been ranked #1
in Education on
USA Today

Invited to speak as a subject matter expert on Education at the United Nations HQ

450+ Google reviews with a 4.92/5.0 rating & most 5-star reviews nationwide

This operating experience is the foundation for how I teach students to think strategically, communicate, lead, prioritize, execute, and create measurable outcomes.

SELECTIVE 1:1 COLLEGE COUNSELING & STRATEGIC MENTORSHIP

Direct access, strategy & mentorship, high-touch execution support

7 spots remaining. With more than half of my current students in 10th grade or below, availability in future admission cycles is increasingly limited.

WHY START NOW?

Because knowledge & skill development doesn't grow linearly. It compounds and grows exponentially.

Starting earlier doesn't mean starting college applications earlier. It means giving a student more cycles to:

Learn → Build → Compete → Improve → Lead → Achieve

That extra year can be the difference between:

Qualifying Top 10% → Top 1%

in U.S. Olympiads (computing, biology, chemistry, math, etc.)

Placing State-level → National / International

for STEM, business, innovation, and humanities competitions

Participant → Leader

in clubs, nonprofits, teams, and more.

Idea → Project → Measurable impact

that actually stands out to top universities

How You Should Evaluate Any College Counselor (or Company)

Although there are some good counselors and companies out there, there are also businesses built around the fact that parents are anxious, admissions outcomes are hard to audit, and each family is effectively a one-time customer. Extraordinary claims can be easy to market and difficult to verify.

1

Acceptance-rate sanity check

Ask for the denominator. If someone quotes 50% into Stanford, 67% into Harvard, 80% into the Ivy League, ask them: 1) how many students applied, 2) over what period, and 3) exactly how the statistic was calculated.

Acceptance rates like these are astronomically high as they are 10-15x higher than the national average.

2

Counselor-background check

Know who will actually advise your child. The company's credentials matter less than the experience of the individual counselor your family will actually work with.

Also, cross-check the company's website team page with their LinkedIn as I've seen companies list 20+ former Ivy League admissions officers on their website, but only 1 of them is associated with their company on LinkedIn.

3

Review math

Look for independently verifiable evidence by comparing claimed scale and tenure against reviews, testimonials, company history, and publicly verifiable experience.

I've seen companies claim they've helped 5,000+ students, but only have 20 Google reviews, all within the last 2 years.

4

Strategy test

Test the quality of their thinking.

After learning about your child, can they articulate specific strategic directions and tradeoffs, or only offer generic advice?

You are not paying for promises.
You are paying for judgment, pattern recognition, and execution.

How my Catalyst Program is different from other traditional college counseling services

The Catalyst Program was intentionally designed to give me more time and bandwidth to work with a small cohort of students to do more than just college counseling, which is to help my students develop the judgment, execution, leadership, and habits that compound over several years that will ultimately enable their success far beyond college admissions.

DIRECTION → DEPTH → PROOF → POSITIONING

1

Direction

Decide what matters.

2

Depth

Build expertise and progression.

3

Proof

Create real outcomes, leadership, or impact.

4

Positioning

Communicate the work authentically and strategically.

The goal is not to manufacture a résumé. It is to help students build depth, pursue real impact, create meaningful outcomes, and position their experiences authentically in a manner that aligns with what each university values most.

Your child only gets one chance to apply.
Make the strategy behind them count.

The Catalyst Program is a selective 1:1 College Counseling & Strategic Mentorship engagement for families who want direct access, experienced judgment, and a long-term partner in their student's growth.

7 spots remaining. Apply before spots fill up as more than 50% of my students are in 10th grade or below so availability in future admission cycles are increasingly limited.