{"id":46763,"date":"2019-08-24T11:01:48","date_gmt":"2019-08-24T18:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=46763"},"modified":"2019-08-24T11:11:23","modified_gmt":"2019-08-24T18:11:23","slug":"a-merchant-navy-professionals-journey-to-oxford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/a-merchant-navy-professionals-journey-to-oxford\/","title":{"rendered":"A Merchant Navy Professional\u2019s Journey to Oxford"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Rishi-picture.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-46766\" width=\"265\" height=\"265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Rishi-picture.jpg 200w, https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Rishi-picture-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 265px) 100vw, 265px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Rishi Raj, a merchant navy professional, partnered with MER (myEssayReview) for his application for Oxford SAID and was accepted into it. Rishi is all set to begin his MBA education at the Oxford SAID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a candid chat with Poonam, Rishi\nshares the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>His background<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Career goals<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Challenges faced during the application process<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>The most challenging part of the application process<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Oxford SAID- his dream school<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>His advice to applicants regarding application process<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now introducing Rishi\u2026..<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam:<\/strong> Can you tell us a little about yourself? Where are you\nfrom? Where and what did you study as an undergrad? What you do now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rishi<\/strong>: I was born and brought up in a small town in Uttar\nPradesh, named Farrukhabad. I did my Bachelors in Nautical Science from the\nUniversity of Mumbai from a Maritime College, T. S. Chanakya. After completing\nmy graduation, I joined a container vessel to complete my cadetship, and since\nthen I have been sailing on various kind of merchant ships. I have visited more\nthan 40 countries during my sailings and have thoroughly enjoyed it until I\ndecided to do an MBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam:<\/strong> When did you start thinking about an MBA? Why now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rishi:<\/strong> I started giving serious thought about MBA three years ago,\nand finally took my GMAT around 2 years ago. I had been sailing for almost 6\nyears then, and I thought of doing something more meaningful where I can\nexploit the niche work experience, that I had gained in all these years of\nsailing. I could see a dearth of young management professional in all the big\nshipping companies who understand the shipping business and all the\npeculiarities associated with it. With an understanding of international trade\nvia the sea, I thought that this was the right time for me to learn more about\nthe business side of the trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: What are your career goals?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rishi<\/strong>: My immediate post MBA goal would be to work in a maritime\nMNC in its mid or downstream operations, and later I would like to leverage my\nlearnings in MBA to converge tech at a larger scale in maritime sector, as it\nis said that Maritime tech is at least 10-15 years behind the current\ninnovation in tech industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: You applied only to Oxford. Why is Oxford SAID the best\nschool for you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rishi:\n<\/strong>While doing my research for\ncolleges, I was looking for a one- year program which stresses upon the\ndiversity of the class and entrepreneurial mindset. I found SAID to have almost\neverything that I was looking for in a college. A business school embedded in\nthe University of Oxford with 93% of the class coming from 63 countries, SAID\nhas a very wide and diverse alumni network which certainly helps during and\nafter MBA. After doing my research and talking to a few alumni, I was confident\nthat SAID is the best 'fit' for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: Can you share your application strategy, planning, and\npreparation with our audience\/ readers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rishi:\n<\/strong>For my application, I didn\u2019t start\nresearching much about colleges when I was preparing for GMAT because I found\nit very distracting thinking about colleges while preparing for GMAT. Once I\ngot my GMAT done, I started talking to alumni of colleges to gauge what kind of\nMBA experience a particular college entails. Once I decided on the college, I\nstarted researching for the essays and application questions. As I applied for\nSAID in 2<sup>nd<\/sup> round, my strategy was not to mix application of any two\ncolleges, and had I not been able to crack SAID\u2019s application, I would have\napplied to other colleges in 3<sup>rd<\/sup> round. I believe in concentrating\nyour efforts in applying and researching about 2-3 colleges, rather than copy-pasting\napplication to 10 different colleges. Luckily, I got into SAID, which saved me\nsome of my future time and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: Looking back, what was the most challenging aspect of the\nschool admission process? How did you approach that challenge and overcome it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rishi:<\/strong> For me, it was the whole application process and especially the fear of giving a wrong or stupid answer in my application. For this reason, it took me some time to finally start my application and essays. And while I was writing my application, I realized that it required a lot of introspection about what do I want from an MBA, or life, in general. Later, I found it a very self-fulfilling process, where there is no such thing as a right or wrong answer.  And of course<a href=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/reviews\/comments\/multiple-school-package-345357044\">, Poonam, you helped a great deal in refining my essays. My essays became clearer and more succinct after each of your edits, and I must say that you showed sheer professionalism which helped me submit my application on time, given the time constraint we had. So, thank you very much!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: It was a pleasure working with you, Rishi. What would you\nadvise other MBA applicants who are facing similar challenges? Would you like\nto give some pointers to the prospective applicants?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rishi:\n<\/strong>What worked for me, I think, was\nthat I tackled one process at a time. We all have heard stories people applying\nto 10 different schools in the same round and getting into 5 of them. If you\ncan do that, by all means, go for it. But if you have picked your school list,\nit is better to concentrate on two schools at a time. The more you learn about\na particular school, the better parallels you can draw with the school culture\nand your personality in your application. And try to take GMAT as soon as you\ncan. It will help you in focusing on your application, which can get very\nthought-provoking at times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: True. What are your interests\/ hobbies? What are your\nfavorite books?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rishi<\/strong>: I am an outdoor person, and I love to play almost every\noutdoor sport&nbsp;which I can get my hands on. Though I grew up playing\ncricket in college, I later fell in love with football. I love reading history\nand visiting a museum whenever I can find one in a city I am visiting. My\ncurrent favorite book is Sapiens: 'A Brief History of Mankind' written by Dr.\nYuval Noah Harari, who did his Ph.D. from the University of Oxford and was a\nprofessor there until recently. I hope to meet him if he happens to visit his\nalma mater next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam<\/strong>: Is there anything I haven\u2019t asked that you would like to\nshare with us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rishi:\n<\/strong>I think the questions were\ncomprehensive in covering almost everything. I would like to offer you my\ngratitude for helping me in getting into SAID. I am sure with the help of your\nexperience and personalized guidance, my essays became much stronger than they\noriginally were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Poonam:<\/strong>&nbsp; Again, the pleasure was mine. Thank you for sharing\nyour story with us. It was nice chatting with you. I wish you good luck with\nyour time at Oxford and continued success in your career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\ncan connect with Rishi via LinkedIn- <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/rishi-raj-chauhan-7691b171\/\">https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/rishi-raj-chauhan-7691b171\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>To learn about the application journeys of some&nbsp; successful MER students, click <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/category\/student-interviews\/\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For questions, email Poonam at<\/strong> poonam@myessayreview.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/index.php\">Web<\/a> \/<a href=\"https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/blogs\/\">Blog<\/a>\/ <a href=\"https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/beforeafter.php\">Free resources<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/LinkedInProfile\">LinkedIn<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/myessayreview?notif_t=page_user_activity\"><strong> <\/strong>Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This\n<a href=\"https:\/\/myessayreview.com\/student-interviews\/merchant-navy-professionals-journey-oxford\/\">interview<\/a> was first published in my Essay Review blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rishi Raj, a merchant navy professional, partnered with MER (myEssayReview) for his application for Oxford SAID and was accepted into it. Rishi is all set to begin his MBA education&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[998,190],"class_list":["post-46763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-mba-application-advice","tag-oxford","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/141"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46763"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46776,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46763\/revisions\/46776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}