58
Finance
General Mgmt
Sponsored
Cambridge-Judge
MBA
Fortunately, I received an offer from Cambridge University’s Judge Business School, but the path to that outcome was by no means a smooth one. In the midst of a difficult struggle, Mr. Round continued to encourage me without giving up until the very end. With deep gratitude toward him—and in the hope that my experience may be of some help to others—I would like to share my personal account of working with Round One below.
Compared with other applicants, my circumstances were by no means favorable. To be honest, and somewhat embarrassingly, despite making every possible effort, I was ultimately unable to achieve sufficiently strong test scores. Having never worked with other counselors, I cannot say this definitively, but I strongly suspect that many so-called “top counselors” would have abandoned me under these conditions. What deeply impressed me about Mr. Round was what happened after I performed poorly on my final GMAT attempt early in the year and found myself with extremely limited options in the main application rounds that followed. At that point, he encouraged me by saying, “The battle isn’t over yet. I will support you with everything I have until the very end—let’s keep running together without giving up.” True to his word, he remained fully engaged without cutting any corners, providing meticulous support in everything from application strategy to essays and interview training, all the way through my final interview. In that moment, I came to truly appreciate not only his abilities as an essay counselor, but also his generosity and depth as a person.
Another aspect that proved highly effective in the long run was his ability to clearly indicate “what should be done” and “what should not be done” at each stage of the process. Looking back, there was a period around the summer when I was struggling to improve my TOEFL score and had not yet begun GMAT preparation at all. He advised me that unless I started working on the GMAT in parallel, it would become impossible to recover later—and he was absolutely right. I did begin GMAT preparation afterward, but it required far more acclimation than I had imagined, and by the end I keenly regretted not starting earlier. Later, in late autumn, when I became completely consumed by the GMAT and allowed my essays to fall far behind, he again pointed out that unless I improved my time management and advanced my essays sooner, I would not be able to apply in the upcoming rounds. Had I not listened to that advice, I believe I would be in a far more difficult situation today. In this way, Mr. Round’s deep understanding of the overall application timeline—and his ability to tailor advice to each individual’s circumstances—made him an exceptionally reassuring presence.
There are many other advantages I could mention, but when it comes to core counseling services such as essay counseling and interview training, I believe the quality is consistently high across the board (assuming, of course, that the applicant themselves comes prepared). By making effective use of email and Skype and offering highly flexible scheduling, he ensures that even the busiest applicants can manage their time effectively. For interview training, he also arranged mock interviews with Ms. Round, which allowed me to receive objective feedback from a third-party perspective.
In addition, what stood out repeatedly was his strategic counseling: regardless of how minor a question might seem, he always provided accurate advice within one day. Although every applicant’s situation and process differ significantly, Mr. Round understands this well and responds in a truly personalized, made-to-order manner. I believe that the reassurance of knowing he would always be there to support me was a major reason I was able to keep moving forward without giving up until the very end. His comprehensive support tailored to individual circumstances—and his openness to working with applicants in a wide range of situations—are, in my view, key strengths of Round One.
That said, applicants who prefer a rigid, textbook-style approach—who want to be told exactly what format to follow for essays and interviews, who are seeking a fixed “surefire method,” or who want to be trained very harshly through relentless corrections—may find that other counselors with such styles are a better fit, as I have heard that such counselors do exist.
Of course, achieving good results ultimately requires constant effort, especially for someone like me with a purely domestic background. In particular, test scores remain a heavy burden for many Japanese applicants with limited overseas experience. While scores are not everything, for those who struggle with them, test preparation alone can become so overwhelming that it obscures the rest of the application process. Moreover, schools’ score requirements have been steadily rising. Round One provides valuable guidance on the overall process, but unfortunately, improving test scores ultimately requires one’s own efforts to strengthen English proficiency. Additionally, although this point is often underestimated, even with an excellent essay counselor, applicants must take responsibility for doing everything they can beyond essays—managing their background, coordinating support from family, workplace colleagues, and others who stand by them throughout the process. If you can manage these aspects on your own, I believe Round One will serve as an exceptionally powerful “pace car,” running alongside you throughout this long journey.
I apologize for the length and lack of structure in these remarks, but I sincerely hope that, with the support of Round One, you will secure an offer from your desired school.
