-Making the right friends.

Subjective. All depends on you and the kind of friends you have in mind. What I will say is that making connections is very important. What I see African students doing is settling down in an African organization, waste of precious time. Branch out. You dont know who you will meet in another organization. Go to social events (not just drinking and clubs o).
Go outside. Siddon somewhere. You dont know what you'll meet I've met the craziest best set of people while just riding my bike or while making a decision at a grocery store. Talk to the next person beside you

Good advice. Why leave Africa to come and hang out with Africans ? Doesn't make much sense. Be bold, spread your wings and fly.

I had a different experience since my papa na politician:

I am the second born
I went to a school upstate New York , after attending the prestigious British School of Lome
I made lots of friends, most of them were white
I drank a lot, had loads of sex, but NEVER did drugs
I spent money like a mad man
I traveled around the world, and tried to spend my weekend in a different state
Most of the kids I hung out with were wealthy as well so I fit right in

I lived on campus but during my junior and senior year, I lived in a frat house and in five star hotel rooms,
People asked my for money, and I gave it freely.

I DID not own a car but had friends who did, and a phone call to a limousine company was not far away
I made friends with everyone, white, black, pink, asian, south asian,

I had fun. Finished my MBA in New York City at Columbia University now I'm back in Nigeria. I miss my college days

Also, when you are done with school, don't punish yourself by remaining abroad, especially if you dont have a solid job offer.

Go to China, India, UAE, be willing to move around the world.

Interesting thread,

Subscribed

Adoniyan wetin u dey find for here!!!! lol

dayokanu:

I dont think these permissions are discretionary.

In most cases, they are CAST IN STONE.

Just like F1 status prevents you from working outside and this is not based on any individuals case, its the law.

buy a simple mobile sim and subscribe for 3g service. it comes with unlt call text(intl and local) and web for $40 a month

They have said it all. I am going to add one more. Make sure you get past exams from folks who took the class before. A lot of professors are lazy and set the same quiz/exam semester after semester. That's how oyibo boys ace their exams. It took me a while to figure that out.

What else? try to get internships if you can. Don't sleep with people younger than 18. They look mature cuz of cheap food and hormones in the food,

obowunmi:

I had a different experience since my papa na politician:

I am the second born
I went to a school upstate New York , after attending the prestigious British School of Lome
I made lots of friends, most of them were white
I drank a lot, had loads of sex, but NEVER did drugs
I spent money like a mad man
I traveled around the world, and tried to spend my weekend in a different state
Most of the kids I hung out with were wealthy as well so I fit right in

I lived on campus but during my junior and senior year, I lived in a frat house and in five star hotel rooms, 
People asked my for money, and I gave it freely. 

I DID not own a car but had friends who did, and a phone call to a limousine company was not far away
I made friends with everyone, white, black, pink, asian, south asian,

I had  fun. Finished my MBA in New York City at Columbia University now I'm back in Nigeria. I miss my college days 

We hail thee. You get money, your papa get money, you go prestigious school, you get MBA, you had loads of sex, You live for 5 star hotels. You've travelled around the world. Ok Prince William  Duke of Cambridge you no de play polo? cuz you no list that one there.  I'm teasing. No mind me.

zebudaya:

What else? try to get internships if you can. Don't sleep with young people younger than 18. They look mature cuz of cheap food and hormones in the food,

This is soo TRUE! Also, don't forget that NO is NO.

So you have been cycling all over Abilene?

Why is cutting of hairs for guys is $15 and above as I was told. Person wey dey cut hairs once every two weeks no fit use broken bottle or cutlass nau. Any other way out?

To get through 4 years of college, you are going to have to come up with ~60k over that period. Im really concerned that some "good" advice being peddled here will still mislead a few folks into taking the leap. For real, go to Canada, you'll thank me when 6 yrs down the line you have a job with no school debt and Canadian green card and your paddy in yankee is forced to enroll for PhD because he finished in the middle of a recession, has no job, no money, subsisting on cold noodles at the ripe age of 30.

Imperiouxx, can't u barb ur own hair? You better go and learn. I learned to cut my hair and do shape ups myself. It won't be perfect but practice makes perfect.

naijasexy:

^^ Very insensitive!

@Topic,  wow!! 

I think life is WAAY easier in Canada. If you are still in Nigeria looking to school in the US, you should definitely consider Canada.

Good luck.

Are u in Canada? Will it be easy for a married man?

I just luv this thread.Please we need more experiences, firsthand too.Dont we have Students in Canada on this thread?Please share your experience.

I just luv this thread.Please we need more experiences, firsthand too.Dont we have Students in Canada on this thread?Please share your experience.

Interesting thread!

My tuppence! So I got part funding from my school, made up some part of the tuition and got the rest from a good Samaritan in my church.

It was very hard I tell you. If you are in the Upper Manhattan area where my school is, there are always lots of free food around both on campus and off campus. For those of you who are Christians, join a church. There is always food every Sunday and at every other meetings. Like others have said, make sure you make friends from diverse backgrounds not limited to African students. I am still very tight with most of the friends I made in school. The thing is that they are always ready to invite you to visit their countries but will decline your invitation to visit Naija. Can't say I blame them because of Boko boys and so on.

Anyways, for the guys haircuts can be quite expensive especially if yours grew very fast like mine. Initially I carried afro to conserve the $20 I paid on haircuts in Harlem and later on I found that there was a free haircut every Monday and Tuesdays at a church on Claremont Avenue. So try and carry Afro and make it look deliberate. That way no one will know you are too broke for a haircut. In the alternative keep your eyes peeled, you might stumble into a freebie.

When it comes to shopping, I will advise that you utilise online shopping. I found that stuffs are cheaper online and you can always return them for free! Especially if you shopped at Walmart In fact, I used to save money this way. I would buy stuffs and use them sparingly, when "owu" hits me, i will repackage it and send it off to good ole Wlamart and get my refund (Don't blame me, I had to survive!)

The crunch comes when you are done with studies in the States as an international student. Of course, you should apply for an OPT but you should be careful not to spend your entire OPT period job hunting because you will have a huge lacuna in your CV if you fail to get a job during this year. As you look for a job in the US make sure that you also look the way of Nigeria (inasmuch as this may be met by a "tufiakwa!" by some). If fortune smiles on you and you get a job that will file you a H1B, great! if not, do not be discouraged to head back home. However, try as much as possible to secure a job in Nigeria from the US before heading home. This is because your bargaining power is higher if you are negotiating from overseas. If you come back without a job and start to hunt then, the lowball offers you get may make you cry!

Goodluck!

Justwise-Don't take anything paris10 says seriously, he makes things up as he goes, i hope prospective students don't read his misleading info and take it.

I'd rather you stick with your British Visa Procedures than utter rubbish about my beloveth country. And to some of you talking about F2 visa (spouse), let me break it down.

Initially, a F2 visa holder would not be able to work, this circumstances would only change if the student is authorised by the INS to work outside the campus. A further application is also be made to DHS notifying them of your work status so as to authorise your spouse for work as well.

A lot of guys here either read or hear an ear-say about procedures. You wanna know more? Call DHS or the INS yourself explaining your situation. Each student is treated as to the degree of their situations.

Now to J-1 student visa, spouses are eligible to work provided they are not J-1 holders themselves and provided they won't be sponsoring their partner (student) with the money realised from working. They can work for maximum of 4 years. Travel/work programs last 3 to four months, trainee/internship programs last 18 months.

J-1 students are also be to work in or outside campus provided they are allowed to do so by their sponsors. Sponsors can either be private or public body. You want to study and bring your spouse to the states to work, get on J-1 visa (easiest way). Get an organization e.g your university, your place of work or  a public body.

+, the Travel/work J-1 visa gets you a job, provides health insurance and like most times provides you with travel and lodging.

Think before coming over.

My expert advice, contrary to rumor. Or using my British accent/english RUMOUR

Kakatazz:

Are u in Canada? Will it be easy for a married man?

www.cic.gc.ca


This website contains all you need to know.
Good luck!

lovely thread.

paris10:

You want to study and bring your spouse to the states to work, get on J-1 visa (easiest way). Get an organization e.g your university, your place of work or  a public body.

+, the Travel/work J-1 visa gets you a job, provides health insurance and like most times provides you with travel and lodging.

Think before coming over.

My expert advice, contrary to rumor. Or using my British accent/english RUMOUR

Bad! Bad! Bad advice!
A J-1 visa is an agreement with your country that YOU MUST RETURN after 2 yrs! I see many asians come on a J1 and have to spend months trying to get a waiver so they can cross over to an H1B. You want to study, please get an F1 visa.

davidylan:

Bad! Bad! Bad advice!
A J-1 visa is an agreement with your country that YOU MUST RETURN after 2 yrs! I see many asians come on a J1 and have to spend months trying to get a waiver so they can cross over to an H1B. You want to study, please get an F1 visa.

You got me wrong. I'm not talking about conventional study (undergraduate or Masters) here, I said study. This would involve professional study/training. However, addition qualifications could be gained whilst being sponsored by your sponsor.

Of course, I always do recommend F-1 visa for regular students.

obowunmi:

Imperiouxx, can't u barb ur own hair? You better go and learn. I learned to cut my hair and do shape ups myself. It won't be perfect but practice makes perfect.

That's what I have been hearing but I keep wondering why is such service so high.

paris10:

You got  me wrong. I'm not talking about conventional study (undergraduate or Masters) here, I said study. This would involve professional study/training. However, addition qualifications could be gained whilst being sponsored by your sponsor.

Of course, I always do recommend F-1 visa for regular students.

How possibly short can the professional study or training be ? 6 months ? 1 year ? If its still all in a bid to bring your family, then I doubt they will give you permission to bring them over for a program that is shorter than the duration of a Masters program.


Any new tips on filing tax returns ?

There are new things every year or some advantage one might have missed out the previous year.

Best tax agencies ? ?

Donate Contribute your advice and tips pls.

@davidylan
Is age a factor when applying for a student visa from Nigeria?

imperiouxx:

That's what I have been hearing but I keep wondering why is such service so high.

It's not high. . .really.
What you need to do is to erase naira 'conversion rates' from your mind.
Trust me, its something we all went through coming from naija.
Else you will not be able to feed if you keep converting!

Might be a lil hard though, but you'll be fine.
Cheers.

Kay-Dee:

How possibly short can the professional study or training be ? 6 months ? 1 year ? If its still all in a bid to bring your family, then I doubt they will give you permission to bring them over for a program that is shorter than the duration of a Masters program.


Any new tips on filing tax returns ?

There are new things every year or some advantage one might have missed out the previous year.

Best tax agencies ? ?

Donate Contribute your advice and tips pls.

Turbotax is way to go I guess.
Be sure to claim your EIC too. I have once missed out on it. Sadly 

gongo aso:

It's not high. . .really.
What you need to do is to erase naira 'conversion rates' from your mind.
Trust me, its something we all went through coming from naija.
Else you will not be able to feed if you keep converting!

Might be a lil hard though, but you'll be fine.
Cheers.

Nah, I don't even remember the recent conversion. I only compared it with other services and couldn't believe it.

dating is a big distraction when you have to earn that good gpa. don't try dating until maybe final year.

work and school are enough work already. make friends but not dating. no be nigeria college you dey wey guys dey waste time for female hostel after 4pm.

the best of time for new student: fresh man year. everyone dotting on you as freshy from africa

i had a very low cut on for long time. Then I relaxed my hair myself.

I'm not crazy abt brazillian hair.

Kay-Dee:

Best tax agencies ? ?

Donate Contribute your advice and tips pls.

1. If you are still filing taxes as an international student then you should get the 1040NR-EZ form in the mail. Or your international student office would usually have a service where you can do your taxes. Its pretty simple. I think Glacier compliance tax system was what we used - ask your ISO.

2. If you are now filing as a resident, then go to www.thepiratebay.org - download a copy of the federal+state 2011 turbotax software (or buy at walmart for $40). Easy to fill by yourself on the computer and it e-files for you for free. You pay $20 to e-file for state.

dayokanu:

So you have been cycling all over Abilene?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH LMAO, How did you know

"Aint nothing wrong with doing the cycling thing" *with my country Texan Accent*