191
Gen. Trading
Finance
Self-funded
INSEAD
MBA
School Enrolled: INSEAD
Background: 33-year-old male, general trading company employee, self-funded applicant
I first contacted Round One in March 2020. At the time, I had largely completed my test preparation, and I decided to proceed with a contract mainly because I was attracted by the following three points:
Above all, the deciding factor was the feeling that Mr. Round would genuinely support my ambitious goal of aiming for a top European school like INSEAD, despite several concerns—being self-funded, in my early 30s, and having a relatively low GPA.
First, just as I had hoped, Round One made it possible to kick off essay preparation in March 2020 and still meet the April application deadline. I believe this was made possible because Mr. Round flexibly arranged an intensive counseling schedule, leveraged the time difference between Japan and Canada to hold late-night sessions in Japan time, and skillfully drew out my strengths by deeply understanding the characteristics of Japanese applicants.
One school I applied to at the last minute advanced me to the interview stage, and because I felt my interview performance went fairly well, I briefly thought, “Is my application journey already over?” Unfortunately, it was not quite that easy, and I was ultimately rejected. After receiving the result, I was so disappointed that I could not bring myself to do anything for a while. However, Mr. Round encouraged me and urged me to try again, which helped me reset mentally and prepare for the next application cycle—just six months later.
Beyond professional support, I believe this style of staying closely alongside applicants, especially when they are emotionally vulnerable, is something unique to Round One. Even during periods when I had not scheduled counseling sessions, Mr. Round would send personal messages as if sensing my loss of momentum—“Are preparations going okay? Keep pushing on your test prep!”—which repeatedly helped me refocus.
During the fall and winter application season of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased workloads and greater expectations in my role as a manager, placing a burden not only on me but also on my family. Even so, being able to start counseling sessions at midnight after my child had gone to sleep was extremely helpful in maintaining family harmony. I believe this level of flexibility would have been difficult to achieve with other well-known counselors based in Japan.
As we continued refining essays together, Mr. Round would offer highly efficient advice such as, “The intent of this question is XX, so the story about YY you wrote earlier should work,” or “You haven’t tried this angle yet—draft something with structure ZZ for next time.” This was another aspect of his support that I found invaluable.
In particular, one of INSEAD’s essay questions was quite unique, and my first draft was completely rejected by Mr. Round as “shallow” (he can be strict at times…). However, the essay we reconstructed together through discussion was something I later reread with admiration, feeling that it truly captured who I am as a person. I believe that passing INSEAD’s document screening was thanks to Mr. Round’s deep understanding of the intent behind the questions and his advice informed by a rich database of past applicants.
I have only just finished what was a long and painful application journey, but the difficult memories are already beginning to fade. What remains most vivid are memories of people who supported and encouraged me along the way—many of them involving Mr. Round. Looking back, I genuinely feel that I am glad I persevered through the application process and that choosing Round One was the right decision.
There is no doubt about Mr. Round’s ability, having guided an anxious version of myself all the way to admission at my dream school, INSEAD. For those who share similar concerns or backgrounds, I strongly encourage you to reach out to Round One and have a conversation.
