113
Finance
General Mgmt
Sponsored
NWN-Kellogg
MBA
Matriculated school: Northwestern (Kellogg)
Other admitted schools: NYU (Stern), Cambridge (Judge)
Professional background: Japanese financial institution, 6 years (company-sponsored study abroad)
Overseas experience: Business trips and travel only
By making use of Round One’s Strategic Guidance, Essay Counseling, and Interview Training services, I was able to gain admission to my first-choice school, Kellogg. I entrusted Round One with nearly everything other than test score preparation, and I am extremely satisfied with the quality of their support. Below, I have summarized what I see as the three main strengths of Round One and Mr. Round.
For me, living outside a major metropolitan area, the most appreciated aspect was Round One’s comprehensive and flexible one-stop service. In addition to essay preparation and school selection, I was able to consult with Mr. Round at any time—via email or Skype—about detailed communications with admissions offices or even unexpected issues that arose during campus visits. He truly became something like a “primary care physician” for my application process.
For applicants living in regional areas or overseas, there are inevitably moments when geographical disadvantages are felt, such as difficulty attending prep schools or information sessions. However, when it comes to application strategy, essays, and interviews, I believe these can be handled perfectly well by leveraging Round One’s internet-based services. Although Mr. Round is normally based in Canada, he stays in Japan for a period in the spring, which allowed me to meet him in Tokyo just before my actual interviews.
One of the reasons I chose Mr. Round as my essay counselor was his depth of experience and proven track record. For over 20 years, he has guided many Japanese applicants to admission at top schools, and he has a thorough understanding of Japanese applicants’ strengths and weaknesses, as well as Japanese business culture. In my case, I work in a somewhat unconventional business model, but thanks to Mr. Round’s extremely quick and accurate understanding, communication throughout the process was smooth and effective.
Based on each applicant’s profile, he proposes concrete and optimal approaches that resonate with the admissions offices of each school. His abilities as an editor are also outstanding: through two-way communication with the applicant, he refines essays into highly polished pieces in both structure and English expression. I applied to seven of the US News Top 10 schools, and received interview invitations from five of them. I believe this outcome succinctly demonstrates the strength of Mr. Round’s counseling.
The same applies to interview training. In mock interviews, he provides detailed and precise feedback covering not only the content of answers, but also word choice and even physical demeanor. In particular, Type A training—where written reports are provided promptly—and Type C training—where school-specific “killer questions” are developed—were especially valuable. Before my actual interviews, I repeatedly reviewed these materials.
The MBA application process is inherently stressful. Amid countless tasks, applicants are constantly plagued by doubts such as, “Is my background really competitive?”, “Will this essay truly be evaluated positively?”, or “What if I don’t get into any school at all?” Even in such moments, Mr. Round never says anything negative; instead, he leads applicants forward in a positive and clear manner.
Among the many well-known counselors, some apply pressure to applicants as a form of screening, while others intentionally leave applicants confused through vague or intuition-based advice. In contrast, I am convinced that Mr. Round’s approach—working sincerely and earnestly with each individual applicant—was the best fit for me. I can confidently recommend Round One to those preparing for MBA applications as a long-term partner who will help them see the process through to the end. If you are currently selecting a counselor, I strongly suggest arranging a meeting with Mr. Round. You will quickly see that he is an outstanding professional.
