40
Finance
General Mgmt
Sponsored
NWN-Kellogg
MBA
The 2009–2010 MBA application cycle was widely regarded as extremely competitive, but after running the entire year’s journey together with Mr. Round, I was fortunate to receive offers of admission from multiple top schools, including my chosen program, Kellogg.
I was well aware of two major weaknesses—no overseas experience and a GPA in the low 2s (neither proved fatal in the end)—so at the outset my anxiety was greater than expected. However, as I continued moving forward together with Mr. Round, I remember that the view ahead gradually, yet steadily, became clearer. When I struggled, Mr. Round shared my concerns and continued to encourage me. When I received my admission offer from Kellogg, he celebrated just as enthusiastically as I did—if not more so.
I am truly grateful to Mr. Round for fighting alongside me throughout this process.
National university, Faculty of Law (GPA 2.94 due to prioritizing tennis)
Japanese securities firm (company-sponsored)
No overseas living experience
TOEFL iBT: 107 (R:26, L:27, Sp:26, Wr:28)
GMAT: 710 (Q:50, V:35, AWA: 5.0)
At Round One, Mr. Round personally handled all clients (as of 2009–2010). Because I wanted to make this once-in-a-lifetime MBA opportunity truly worthwhile, I considered having confidence and conviction in my school selection to be a critical factor when choosing a counselor.
When I first met Mr. Round shortly after passing my company’s internal selection—before I had any test scores—I shared my MBA goals and my vaguely defined list of target schools (mostly ultra–top schools). He demonstrated a willingness to support my challenge while clearly outlining the test scores, essays, and overall path required to gain admission to such elite programs. At the same time, he did not neglect to suggest safety schools that could meet my needs while still offering a realistic chance of admission. This balance gave me peace of mind and made me want to “fight this battle together.”
This is an extremely important stage, as test scores are often used as de facto cutoffs by schools. Since Mr. Round does not offer TOEFL iBT or GMAT prep classes, applicants must rely on other prep schools or self-study.
For my part, I used prep schools for TOEFL speaking and for building fundamentals in GMAT SC and CR—essentially buying time—and in hindsight, this proved sufficient. I also felt there was little value in enrolling in expensive full-package prep programs. Ultimately, the most critical factor in improving test scores is the quality of one’s self-study.
Although Mr. Round does not provide test prep instruction, he was an invaluable presence—recommending prep schools, flexibly adjusting the timing of essay work and applications based on my score situation, and offering steady guidance.
If I were to offer one piece of advice on score preparation, it would be: “Set your targets as high as possible and move every process forward aggressively.” For a purely domestic applicant like me, TOEFL iBT was a particularly time-consuming hurdle. By setting a high target and securing a 100+ score early, I was able to allocate time efficiently—focusing on reaching GMAT 700, refining essays, and pushing TOEFL to 105+—which ultimately led to strong results.
Essays are said to be just as critical as test scores. From mid-July onward, I worked on my essays through weekly Skype sessions with Mr. Round (two to three hours per session). At first, I struggled to translate myself into written form and had no sense of which topics to use or how to structure my stories.
Given this, I honestly worried whether I would be able to apply to all of my target schools. However, as Mr. Round and I worked through a detailed inventory of my background and professional achievements, and as I learned how to select appropriate topics and develop essays effectively, both the quality and speed of my essay writing improved dramatically. Mr. Round conducts thorough research on each business school, and whenever I asked which stories would “resonate,” his advice was consistently precise and reassuring. I am deeply grateful for the patience and constant gentleness with which he supported me through what was initially a very slow process.
To be candid, I cannot say exactly how much differentiation essays alone create, nor can I compare with other counselors, as I did not work with any others. However, if the purpose of essays is to accurately convey who you are within limited word counts and compellingly present yourself to admissions committees, I am convinced that Mr. Round accomplished this fully.
With essays refined alongside Mr. Round and competitive test scores, I believe interview invitations from top schools arrive with a very high probability.
This is the final hurdle of the MBA application process. Here, I was supported by both Mr. Round and Emma. Because they understand each school’s characteristics in depth, the questions they asked during training closely mirrored real interviews (at Kellogg, the exact questions practiced appeared in my interview).
Round One’s training is conducted via Skype, but beyond English delivery and topic selection, the feedback sheets I received were exceptionally detailed—covering even speaking habits—and in many ways more granular than in-person training. I reviewed these sheets right up until the interviews, while practicing repeatedly through low-cost English conversation lessons.
Interviews improve the more you practice, and my approach—combining Round One’s training with English conversation practice for review—proved highly effective.
Looking back over the year, I would not say that everything went well solely because of Mr. Round. I was supported by many people—my wife, colleagues at work, and others—and it was thanks to all of them that I was able to endure the process. That said, it is also true that Mr. Round’s presence went far beyond helping with essays and interview preparation. For me, he was a partner who shared my struggles and shared in my intense joy when I was admitted to my target school.
Finally, if I may offer some advice to those considering MBA or LLM applications and reading this page: build as many supportive relationships as you can.
I personally experienced periods of deep stress—times when my stomach ached from anxiety. Yet I was able to keep moving forward because of my fellow applicants, Mr. Round, my encouraging colleagues, and my wife.
After the challenge, I truly believe a wonderful path will open up. Please keep going and do your best.
