Chayanika

My name is Chayanika and I come from a small island country in the Indian Ocean called Sri Lanka. Currently, I am working as an MBA Summer Consultant at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

I had a very international education completing my Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in International Relations and French Language and Literature from Boston University. At a young age I was fluent in English and French apart from my mother tongue. However, I did not have any formal education in business. Yet I was hired by an innovation company called CT CLSA Securities in Colombo, Sri Lanka where I moved from the position of Senior Research Analyst to Associate Director Research. However, the situation in Sri Lanka being what it is and the finance sector is not very developed I did not see myself staying there in the long run. I also knew that if I wanted to move to the US or Europe, I would need a formal education in business and a degree from a university that has great exposure and network, like Cambridge. Hence, I decided to move to the UK to further my education.

Surprisingly, even though I am pretty fluent in English, having lived in the US for four years,  I had a tough time with the verbal section of the GMAT. However the most difficult part for me, as a liberal arts major, was Mathematics. Thankfully, I received great help from MBA Center, which gave me a great basis, knowledge, and methodology to tackle maths questions and get the required 650 plus GMAT score. However, the GMAT still remains a traumatic experience, as I never estimated that level of difficulty.

Life at Cambridge has been very inspiring. The programme is highly tailored and we are provided with specialised facilities and world-leading academics to guide us. Currently, I am working for the University Hospital as an intern. However, I have enjoyed being at Cambridge so much that I hope to continue my work here even after my program gets over.

Many people believe that when they do an MBA, their main problem will turn out to be financing or the written application or finding a great recommender and will end up underestimated the GMAT. Do not do that. Give equal priority to the GMAT preparations. Take your time and prepare patiently because it is rare that someone gets a top school after just three months of classes. And don’t hesitate to seek help if you feel you need it. I was personally lucky to find Dr. Hubert Silly and MBA Center when I was preparing for my GMAT and I can only recommend their services to you.