126
Finance
Ops/Logistics
Self-funded
Oxford-Saïd
MBA
Matriculated school: Oxford
Applied schools: Oxford (2nd Round), Cambridge (2nd Round)
Background: Self-funded, finance, male (31 years old at the time of application)
I was able to gain admission to my first-choice school, Oxford, unquestionably thanks to Round One’s support!
Despite facing many disadvantages in the MBA application process (self-funded status, a finance background, a low GPA, etc.), I am convinced that the reason I was able to gain admission to my target school was entirely due to the support of the Round team (Steve & Emma). I am truly grateful to them for their unwavering dedication throughout my application journey. Round One’s services mainly consist of (1) Strategic Guidance, (2) Essay Counseling, and (3) Interview Training, all of which I found to be exceptionally high in quality. In this testimonial, I would like to briefly share my experiences with each of these services. In my particular case, I had used another counselor during my first year of MBA preparation, so I can offer a comparative perspective as well—based on which I can strongly recommend Round One.
What makes Round One outstanding = its strengths
In broad terms, this service involves creating an optimal list of target schools and an application schedule (application strategy) tailored to the applicant, by taking into account factors such as background (self-funded vs. company-sponsored), industry, test scores, and preparation progress, through repeated consultations with Steve. One aspect of MBA applications that often becomes a blind spot is precisely this application strategy. To my knowledge, this is a service that many other counselors do not offer; in many cases, applicants are left entirely on their own to decide which schools to apply to. However, especially among Japanese applicants, there tends to be an excessive fixation on MBA rankings when selecting schools. As a result, applicants may overlook schools that would be a better fit or equally strong, simply because they are not ranked at the very top.
As you may know, MBA rankings are often based on factors such as employment rates, post-MBA salaries, or salary increases before and after the MBA—metrics that do not necessarily reflect the true quality of a school. Nevertheless, many applicants apply only to so-called “top-ranked” schools, influenced by this bias. I myself initially fell into this trap. However, through strategic counseling with Steve and the broad, experience-based advice he provided, I feel that my own perspective widened considerably. This is advice that only someone who has seen a wide range of applicants and schools over many years can offer, and it is a service that maximizes an applicant’s chances of success.
Steve’s advice is grounded in two main axes: (1) what the applicant seeks from an MBA (i.e., what they want to do after the MBA), and (2) feasibility. By combining these axes with his deep knowledge of each school, he categorizes schools into three groups—dream schools, target schools, and safety schools—and then builds an optimal, personalized application list. I do not believe there is another counselor who approaches school selection with this level of strategic rigor. Having a clear application list and schedule allowed me to focus my energy on preparation with much greater intensity.
This can be divided into two key points. The first is schedule management. At Round One, essay counseling schedules are fixed on a monthly basis (for example, every Friday at 9:00 a.m.), which makes managing essay work extremely easy. In addition, after every counseling session, the counselor always assigns homework. By simply focusing on completing these assignments, essays naturally progress toward completion with sufficient time to spare. This relieved me of the burden of managing essay schedules myself, which was immensely helpful. With other counselors, applicants generally need to manage their own schedules, which can be extremely challenging when juggling essay writing alongside school research and test preparation.
The second point is the quality of the counselor. My counselor was Emma, and I was extremely satisfied with the high quality of her counseling, which was grounded in her extensive experience. What I sought in a counselor was not only writing and editing ability, but also deep knowledge of the schools themselves. Only when both are present can truly compelling school-specific essays be produced.
After developing the core of each essay, fine-tuning for each individual school is essential, and Emma carefully supported me through these detailed adjustments, allowing me to complete essays that I felt fully confident in. Unlike standardized tests, essays have no clear-cut “finish line,” but I believe it is necessary to refine them to a level where one can say, “If I am rejected with this, so be it.” I am certain that I could not have reached that level without Emma’s support.
Round One has a strong reputation for interview preparation, and after experiencing it myself, I fully understood why. I took all three types of interview training—Types A, B, and C—and I believe each represents the highest level of preparation available, unique to Round One.
Type A training consists of a 30-minute mock interview that closely simulates the real thing, but what truly stands out is the feedback method. With many counselors, feedback is given briefly and verbally after the mock interview. At Round One, however, a detailed written feedback report is provided within 24 hours. This includes not only feedback on answers to each question, but also an evaluation of overall communication skills, eye contact, posture, and body language. All of these elements are scored, with an overall score provided, making weaknesses clearly visible and helping identify exactly what needs focused practice. From the mock interview through to the actual interview, I practiced continuously using this report as my guide.
Type B training provides immediate verbal feedback after each question. In my case, Emma flexibly tailored questions to focus on areas she felt were weaknesses, as well as areas I personally wanted to practice more. After identifying weaknesses through Type A training, this flexible, targeted practice proved extremely effective. In addition, because Round One has deep knowledge of individual schools, I also received school-specific advice such as what types of questions a particular school is likely to ask or how best to frame responses, which contributed greatly to my strong performance in actual interviews.
Type C training focuses on developing effective questions to ask admissions officers during interviews or information sessions. Round One refers to these as “Killer Questions.” Asking strong, thoughtful questions is crucial for demonstrating interest in and understanding of a school, both in interviews and in interactions with admissions staff. I believe that having a service dedicated to developing such questions is truly unique to Round One.
As described above, Round One provides an ideal environment for MBA preparation, with experienced counselors like Steve and Emma, as well as well-structured systems designed to deliver highly effective counseling. As I stated at the outset, I truly believe that gaining admission to my target school would not have been possible without Round One. Based on my own experience, I can wholeheartedly and confidently recommend them. I sincerely hope that, with Round One’s support, you too will achieve admission to your desired schools.
