167
Finance
Banking-Inv.
Sponsored
Columbia
MBA
School enrolled: Columbia Business School
Counselor: Stephen Round
Background: Japanese financial institution, 30s
I am firmly convinced that my admission to my first-choice school, Columbia Business School, was made possible thanks to Round One. From the time I met Mr. Round in March and began working with him (I will deliberately use this familiar form of address that I grew accustomed to during our counseling sessions) until I received my admission offer at the end of September, I was supported in many different ways over the course of roughly six months, which allowed me to move through the application process efficiently. Below are the aspects of Round One’s value that I would particularly like to highlight.
Even when I made sudden requests—such as wanting to move resume preparation earlier or to bring forward my application timeline by a month—Mr. Round responded flexibly, customizing the content of each counseling session accordingly. He carefully managed the workload so that I could proceed with application preparation at a consistently reasonable pace. As a result, even though my daytime hours were fully consumed by work, I was able to move smoothly through the application process without being overwhelmed.
In particular, just before submitting my application to my first-choice school, I found myself worrying about very small details in the application forms and frequently sent emails with minor questions. Each time, I received thoughtful and prompt responses, which was extremely reassuring.
As many others have also commented, Mr. Round has an exceptional ability to translate what I want to convey into a compelling application. Each time, I was genuinely impressed by how much clearer and more persuasive my essays became simply through refinements in wording and structure. In addition to my first-choice school, I applied to multiple top U.S. business schools, and the fact that all of them passed the document screening stage is something I attribute to the high quality of Mr. Round’s counseling.
Moreover, when something needs to be pointed out, he does so clearly and decisively. During one counseling session, when I was struggling to decide whether to use Episode A or Episode B in an essay, Mr. Round stated unequivocally that Episode B was “not sexy” and should be dropped, giving me the push I needed. Thanks to that clarity, I was able to proceed with confidence and complete the essay with a strong sense of conviction.
If you are looking to pursue an MBA efficiently within a limited timeframe, I highly recommend consulting with Round One.
