65
Energy
Engineering/R&D
Sponsored
NWN-Kellogg
MBA
Admitted school: Kellogg School of Management
Other admitted schools: Fuqua, Darden, Tepper
TOEFL: 103
GMAT: 690
Overseas experience: Limited to travel
With the support of Round One, I was admitted to Kellogg. As shown above, my test scores were not particularly strong, and I had no overseas experience. Nevertheless, I ultimately received offers of admission from four of the five schools to which I applied. Looking back, there is no doubt that these results were made possible thanks to Steve Round and Emma Round of Round One.
Since I have no experience working with other counselors, I cannot make direct comparisons. I also believe that regardless of who your counselor is, the most important prerequisite is your own effort. For that reason, I would not recommend Round One indiscriminately to everyone. That said, for me personally, Round One was the best possible partner. Below are several reasons why.
The Strategic Guidance program, which began in April, served as a source of emotional stability for me throughout the entire process. From one-year schedule management starting in April, to admissions timelines, events, and school selection, Steve’s meticulous consulting became a strong psychological support for me.
My essay counselor was Emma Round, and I believe she is an outstanding counselor. She carefully understood my thoughts and intentions, accurately grasped what each school was looking for, and helped me craft extremely clear and compelling essays. The more effort I put in, the more thoroughly she responded in kind. Above all, she has a great sense of humor, and our Skype counseling sessions were genuinely enjoyable. She reviewed everything—from my résumé and essays to application entries and final submissions—and I was extremely satisfied with the overall quality of support.
For interview preparation, I worked with Round One four or five times and used other online interview prep services for the remainder. Even so, Round One was more than worth the investment. Emma’s interview training was particularly rigorous, and she did not go easy on me despite my purely domestic background. (At least, that was my impression.) Each session left me thoroughly challenged and often discouraged, but in reality, my interviews with native interviewers felt very similar to the mock interviews I had with Emma. As a result, I believe I was able to perform well in my interviews because I had become accustomed to the process through mock interviews with Steve and Emma. In fact, I was admitted to all four schools that invited me to interview.
I ultimately decided to enroll at Kellogg, but two important decisions by Steve played a key role in getting me there.
The first was school selection for the first round. Taking into account my test scores, my company’s conditions, and application and decision timelines, Steve constructed a balanced portfolio of schools and advised me to submit only one application in Round 1. As a result, I received an offer of admission from that school by December, which allowed me to narrow my Round 2 applications and gave me significant peace of mind.
The second was his encouragement to apply to Kellogg. To be honest, the school I was admitted to in Round 1 was already more than satisfactory for me, so from late December until the Round 2 deadlines, my motivation declined and I struggled with whether to apply to Kellogg at all. At that point, Steve strongly encouraged me. He argued that I had nothing to lose and insisted that I was a good fit for Kellogg, urging me to apply (whether or not that was truly his belief).
In the end, his prediction proved correct, and I was admitted. Now, I feel deeply honored to have been accepted to Kellogg and am truly glad that I applied. Without his encouragement at that moment, I would certainly not be attending Kellogg today.
Finally, Round One is a highly experienced and accomplished professional consultancy, particularly in supporting Japanese applicants. They have a deep understanding of Japanese characteristics while also helping applicants adopt a mindset close to that of native speakers. As for the cost, I would not say it is inexpensive, but I would not say it is expensive either. I believe the value fully justified the price. Above all, the personal character and professionalism of Steve and Emma made them ideal partners to work with for nearly a full year.
