106
Energy
General Mgmt
Self-funded
Michigan-Ross
MBA
I was able to achieve a highly satisfying outcome in my MBA applications thanks to approximately ten months of support from Round One, starting in May 2013. Despite what felt like very challenging circumstances—being self-funded, over 30 years old, from a purely domestic background, and with no prior experience using English—I will be enrolling this summer at my first-choice U.S. Top-10 school.
It goes without saying that the strengths of Round One lie in the high quality of its essay counseling and interview training, but here I would like to highlight some additional advantages of Round One beyond those core services.
The primary reason I chose Round One was the sense of reassurance it gave me. Of course, its strong track record was appealing, but the decisive factor was the sense of trust and calm I felt when I first spoke with Mr. Round over Skype during the counselor selection stage—something I did not feel with other counselors.
That intuition proved entirely correct. With his extensive experience, Mr. Round supported me through every stage of the application process in the form of Strategic Guidance: from test preparation and school selection, to extracurricular activities that would help present me attractively, and even campus visits. During the busy application period, being able to receive advice within 24 hours simply by sending an email—without having to spend hours searching online—was an enormous help.
As many other testimonials have noted, this aspect was truly a lifesaver. During the peak essay-writing period from October to December, I was given a mountain of homework every week by Ms. Emma Round, and on weekends when counseling sessions were scheduled, I often found myself nearly in tears as I wrote essays. However, by following her assignments step by step (even though I could not always complete everything perfectly), I was able to submit applications to all schools with time to spare. In particular, I had heard that early January—when many second-round deadlines converge—usually involves all-night work, but in my case there was no need to panic at all. I was able to get adequate sleep while calmly refining my applications.
Because counseling was provided online and could be done from home, I was able to keep writing essays right up until the very last minute before appointments (even though, in theory, I was supposed to submit them an hour in advance). While Ms. Round was reviewing the essays I had submitted, I could continue working on other essays at home in a relaxed environment. Since it was difficult for me to write essays on weekdays, weekends were crucial, and by scheduling appointments late at night, I was able to immerse myself fully in writing from morning until night. This would not have been possible if I had needed to commute for in-person sessions.
These are the major benefits of Round One as I experienced them firsthand. The fees are certainly not inexpensive, and during the peak counseling period it was frankly intimidating to watch my bank balance steadily decrease. However, given that I was able to secure admission to my first-choice school in what is often described as a very tough landscape for self-funded applicants, I believe I received more than enough return on my investment. For those of you who are about to embark on the MBA application journey, I strongly recommend speaking with Mr. Round at least once.
