121
Finance
General Mgmt
Sponsored
Wash-Olin
MBA
While my test scores were stagnating, I believe it would have been difficult to gain admission to my target school without Round One’s essays and comprehensive, end-to-end support.
Matriculated school: Olin (Washington University)
Other admitted schools: Emory, Rochester, Purdue
Waitlisted school: UNC Kenan-Flagler
I received internal approval for company-sponsored study abroad at the end of April and was introduced to Round One by a senior colleague at my company. The reasons I ultimately chose Round One were that I sensed a level of maturity in not selecting clients based solely on test scores, and that their comprehensive support—covering essays, interview preparation, and more—was extremely robust.
I come from a purely domestic background, with overseas experience limited to travel, and I had to study while continuing my regular work responsibilities, so test preparation was extremely challenging. The weekly essay counseling sessions that began in September were very effective as a pace-maker: by following the counselor’s schedule, my application materials for each school were largely completed as a matter of course. In addition, despite having TOEFL scores below 100 and GMAT scores in the high 600s, I received interview invitations from most of the schools I applied to. I believe this was entirely thanks to Mr. Round’s work on my résumé and essays.
As part of the comprehensive services, I received support across a wide range of areas, including flexible selection of target schools based on my test score situation and editing of thank-you emails sent after interviews. As with essays, they quickly revised my materials while skillfully drawing out my strengths, transforming my original drafts into writing with far greater depth and impact.
I have heard that some counselors change their level of engagement depending on an applicant’s test scores, but a counselor should be a partner who runs a long marathon together with you. Encouraging each other during difficult times, and celebrating wholeheartedly when things go well—being able to prepare for studying abroad together with Mr. Round, with whom such a trusting relationship could be built, was an experience beyond compare. I truly believe that without him, I would not have been able to gain admission to my target school.
