7
Finance
Banking-Inv.
Sponsored
Chicago-Booth
MBA
Because the department in charge at my company had little understanding of what pursuing an MBA abroad actually entails, I did not receive notification of the company-sponsored selection results until the end of May!!!
Under normal circumstances, one would first achieve reasonably strong TOEFL and GMAT scores and then select an essay counselor. However, given my situation, it was critical to secure a counselor as early as possible who would be willing to take me on based on potential rather than finalized scores.
In early June, a senior colleague from my company who had begun studying at LBS the previous year introduced me to Mr. Round, who had only recently gone independent at the time. I contacted him immediately and was asked to email my current TOEFL score and my objectives for pursuing an MBA abroad. Because another colleague from my company was also in contact with him (Round One has a policy, for instructional reasons, of accepting no more than two clients from the same company at one time), I was asked to undergo an online assessment interview so that it could be decided whether Mr. Round himself or his sister would take charge of my case. At the time, this felt somewhat excessive, but since communication with Mr. Round would be primarily email-based, I now feel it was very beneficial to be able to speak with him directly at the outset. During our exchanges, he learned that my career was in the long-term care business—an area closely tied to the challenges of an aging society—and that I had obtained my U.S. CPA qualification the previous year. Based on this, he decided to personally take charge of my case starting in September.
The initial ideal schedule was to complete TOEFL—and ideally GMAT—by September and then move into the essay phase. (In reality, due to my involvement in a highly chaotic project from July onward, I ended up taking the GMAT until December and the TOEFL as late as February.) Round One’s fee structure consisted of an upfront strategy fee of approximately ¥90,000 at enrollment, with essay and interview training charged at ¥20,000 per hour. The strategy fee covered school selection and various consultations, all handled via email. Even when I was invited to interviews in January, I was able to exchange emails and receive timely checks of my thank-you notes to interviewers, which made Mr. Round a truly reliable presence in critical moments. (There were times during the intense December application period when responses were slower, but overall I was very satisfied.)
Essay guidance began with the creation of my résumé. Referring to templates from past clients, I prepared a draft before the first appointment, sent it by email in advance, and then reviewed it during the appointment window, receiving necessary revisions and feedback. Once the résumé was complete, we began working on essays for CMU, which was chosen because its essay prompts were broadly applicable to other schools. In hindsight, the CMU essays proved highly versatile and served as an excellent foundation for preparing application materials for other schools later on. In a two-hour appointment, we typically completed around two essays at the beginning, and toward the end, sometimes as many as four or five. Having one counselor review my work continuously was an enormous advantage.
In my case, my GMAT score remained at 610 until October, so I initially focused on schools ranked around the 30th range. As my scores improved in November and December, I added higher-ranked schools to my list. As a result, I ultimately applied to 11 schools. The second round involved completing applications for approximately eight schools over the year-end and New Year period—a true tightrope walk. Nevertheless, by the appointment on January 13, just before my final interview invitation, I was able to complete all applications as planned.
In total, from September through February, I paid fees of approximately ¥1.2 million. Given the substance and quality of the services provided, I feel this cost was fully justified.
I was constantly told that GMAT 650 and TOEFL 270 were the minimum benchmarks, which at times was deeply discouraging. Even so, I am grateful that Mr. Round calmly pointed out where I was lacking and guided me skillfully toward the best possible direction at each stage.
