omoobaadeNGR:


That's mainly her bias. She was willing to issue me a visa today but she said as a good PhD student, she expects me to get funding from the university as do most applicants. I told her that some faculty members have promised to fund my research starting from Fall semester, she then told me to wait until then or wait for the other university that has put me on admission waitlist. I told her I want to get done with my program as fast as possible and and willing to pay before getting funded by the department. She then asked for my sponsor and I told her my aunts (one has N75m+in fixed deposit plus 2.7m account balance, the other has 9 million on savings account closing balance.). She asked what they do and I told her, she gave one kind of smile (which revealed what she was thinking). She then asked how much I currently earn, which I told her something lower than what I actually make, because I have just started a firm which made me put myself on a lower salary than what I was actually earning when employed in a company It's about 1/4 of my last salary that I pay myself now, when production begins next year it will increase my income tremendously (she would not listen to explanations).
Then bla bla bla, Did you write any exam? I said yes, GRE and TOEFL and my good score. next was Sir, I won't be issuing your visa this time...

Dear friend,
All the gurus and my ogas in the house won't even advice you to do a non funded PHD program. I mean a PHD is like a paid job in the US.
The VO gave you a very sound advice, don't be in a haste to start a PhD without funding. The US isn't running away

Masters is a sprint but PhD is a marathon. I have heard stories of funded PhD graduate students that got frustrated of the program and dropped out not to talk of unfunded grad students.

Remember promises might fail. What will happen to you if you bank on the promised funding and it doesn't come? You go just run pass Terry G

This is my own personal opinion and not based on any statistics or proven record

Happy and prosperous 2019 ahead

NB: please share your interview transcript, you are a prospective PhD student so you will eventually get your visa

omoobaadeNGR:


That's mainly her bias. She was willing to issue me a visa today but she said as a good PhD student, she expects me to get funding from the university as do most applicants. I told her that some faculty members have promised to fund my research starting from Fall semester, she then told me to wait until then or wait for the other university that has put me on admission waitlist. I told her I want to get done with my program as fast as possible and and willing to pay before getting funded by the department. She then asked for my sponsor and I told her my aunts (one has N75m+in fixed deposit plus 2.7m account balance, the other has 9 million on savings account closing balance.). She asked what they do and I told her, she gave one kind of smile (which revealed what she was thinking). She then asked how much I currently earn, which I told her something lower than what I actually make, because I have just started a firm which made me put myself on a lower salary than what I was actually earning when employed in a company It's about 1/4 of my last salary that I pay myself now, when production begins next year it will increase my income tremendously (she would not listen to explanations).
Then bla bla bla, Did you write any exam? I said yes, GRE and TOEFL and my good score. next was Sir, I won't be issuing your visa this time...

The VO actually did you a favor but you just don't know. Why would you even consider to take a Phd offer without any form of funding? Do you know the feeling of doing a Phd while your lab mate is funded and you are not? You will be frustrated and sad at the same time.

Trust me you don't want to combine the stress of phd and qualifying exam with financial issues. People who don't get paid the same stipend with there phd counterparts are not that happy about that not to talk of not getting funded at all.

In life, every setback is not a bad thing, some are blessing in disguise. That thousand of dollars you want to go and dash the school can be used for something better. My advice to you is to wait till when the funding will be available or apply to a school that will fund you from Nigeria.

Please do schools in the US accept HND?
If it's only some schools that accept, does anyone have a link to these schools or kindly list some of these schools?

Good evening house , Can I complete my DS 160 with the problem USA Govt having ?

akpumping30:
Good evening house , Can I complete my DS 160 with the problem USA Govt having ?

You can complete your DS-160

jerrypeacelinks:
Hello, can someone help list out what SIMILARITIES BETWEEN TWO SCHOOLS one applied to entails? What are they looking out for? A comprehensive listing will do. Thank you.

You applied to schools because they fit your profile
Example:GRE,GP and TOEFL requirements
You applied to schools because they are doing courses you are interested in:
Both of them are doing biotechnology, sustainable energy etc..
You applied to schools because they fit your budget:
What is your budget range:$25k-30k for a month?
You applied to schools because of external factors like weather,cultural diversity,strong naija community etc that makes you easily adapt when you touch down..
Happy new year ,buddy!

.

Yrey:
After pleasantries I passed my passport and I 20

VO:Looks at my I 20 and asked why I choose California miramar university

Me:I choose CMU because the curriculum aligns with my career objectives. They have an impressive 13:1 student to faculty ratio. Moreso, because of the Mediterranean climate

VO: How many schools did you apply to

Me: One

VO:Did you take any standardised test?

Me: No

VO:Have you travelled out of the country before

Me: No

VO: Who is sponsoring you and what does the person do(I forgot to state that I have person funds, it's stated on my I 20)

Me:My aunt. She's the CEO of phoba farms and she's also a civil servant in my state...... Next thing na blue paper

My eyes didn't see a single WHITE PAPER today. Its my first attempt. I did nursing in my first degree now going for MBA with concentration in healthcare management .School resumes February 21

The CMU you went with is a redflag university. Try and get admission in a good university, then reapply. Secondly, having no GRE/GMAT for an MBA course doesn't show any standard for the school.

For your information, I had my MSc in Europe and was a RA during and after my program. I was offered full PhD funding at the university but I won't stay there. It's a long story. My decision to move over to the US can only be appreciated by someone who has all the details, which I can't start spilling on an open platform as this. I fully understand you, but I have my reasons for wanting to start and rap up as fast as possible. I'll put up my transcript soon when I'm calm and chanced enough to do it

sheke01:


Dear friend,
All the gurus and my ogas in the house won't even advice you to do a non funded PHD program. I mean a PHD is like a paid job in the US.
The VO gave you a very sound advice, don't be in a haste to start a PhD without funding. The US isn't running away

Masters is a sprint but PhD is a marathon. I have heard stories of funded PhD graduate students that got frustrated of the program and dropped out not to talk of unfunded grad students.

Remember promises might fail. What will happen to you if you bank on the promised funding and it doesn't come? You go just run pass Terry G

This is my own personal opinion and not based on any statistics or proven record

Happy and prosperous 2019 ahead

NB: please share your interview transcript, you are a prospective PhD student so you will eventually get your visa

femi312:
The VO actually did you a favor but you just don't know. Why would you even consider to take a Phd offer without any form of funding? Do you know the feeling of doing a Phd while your lab mate is funded and you are not? You will be frustrated and sad at the same time.

Trust me you don't want to combine the stress of phd and qualifying exam with financial issues. People who don't get paid the same stipend with there phd counterparts are not that happy about that not to talk of not getting funded at all.

In life, every setback is not a bad thing, some are blessing in disguise. That thousand of dollars you want to go and dash the school can be used for something better. My advice to you is to wait till when the funding will be available or apply to a school that will fund you from Nigeria.

I also get your point, but refer to my last post before this to understand my viewpoint

Yrey:
After pleasantries I passed my passport and I 20

VO:Looks at my I 20 and asked why I choose California miramar university

Me:I choose CMU because the curriculum aligns with my career objectives. They have an impressive 13:1 student to faculty ratio. Moreso, because of the Mediterranean climate

VO: How many schools did you apply to

Me: One

VO:Did you take any standardised test?

Me: No

VO:Have you travelled out of the country before

Me: No

VO: Who is sponsoring you and what does the person do(I forgot to state that I have person funds, it's stated on my I 20)

Me:My aunt. She's the CEO of phoba farms and she's also a civil servant in my state...... Next thing na blue paper

My eyes didn't see a single WHITE PAPER today. Its my first attempt. I did nursing in my first degree now going for MBA with concentration in healthcare management .School resumes February 21

So so sorry about your delay dear.

But I feel a no GRE didn't show u to be a genuine or serious student. My opinion though. As for white paper, VO dey sit on top of am... lol

TheZed:
According to what I read online, it won’t affect visa interview.

Please post link let's read too.

sheke01:


In my opinion, I think the answer to this question should contain your program based similarities between the schools you applied to. The VO wants to see if your carefully selected and applied to schools with similar program or if you just randomly selected and applied to schools without particular criteria.

For example if you want to do your masters to improve your bioenviromental aspect of your career and you came with an i20 of school X because they have facilities that facilitates this, then it common sense to show tha all the schools you applied to also have this facilities and will improve you in this regard too.

Please don't start mentioning "all the schools are located in small towns", or "all the schools are cheap", or "all the schools have good international students base" and stuffs like this

Disclaimer: This is just my own personal opinion based on what I think should be right. Use your discretion and filter through

I hope this helps you though

Compliments of the season and happy, prosperous 2019

This is great. Nice I must say and I love your "viewer discretion" kinda advise...

Olalekank:
Please do schools in the US accept HND?
If it's only some schools that accept, does anyone have a link to these schools or kindly list some of these schools?

The following schools accepts HND once it has been evaluated and meets US bsc equivalent
Tamuc
Mtsu
Etsu
Illinois state university
Texas southern university
Thses are the once am very sure, I know there are still more of them

sheke01:


Computer science / IT courses in the US in now open to all students irrespective of academic background. Most schools want diverse perspectives in the classes this days and coupled with the increase in IT jobs they usually accept most applicants as much as their class could take. I myself had my bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering but am currently doing masters in Computer Information systems

The issue you would encounter is in funding/GA. Most GA you would receive before getting to campus would require you to tutor or assists the professors in one way or the other, and you might not be considered for such positions because you have not taken courses in computer science / IT.

Nevertheless, if you have funds to cover one session, you can go ahead and apply. You will surely get admitted for Computer science. You can even apply for computation based IT programs like maths & statistics, analytics etc. Some of this courses are now being done under Computer science.

I hope this helps you

Cheers

Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation. God bless you!

I asked question on Dec 1 and just reading response on 31st. The hustle is real

omoobaadeNGR:


I also get your point, but refer to my last post before this to understand my viewpoint

Taking up the bold step to leave your comfort zone shows ambition and that you are not lazy. That is commendable since most people tend to always prefer staying put in there comfort zone other than thinking of the future.

However, I still don't agree with doing an unfunded Phd, its never worth it. I am pretty sure 95% of people doing Phd today in the US won't be doing it if it weren't funded. You saying you want to start and wrap it up fast due to reason best known to you is not a good enough reason to take an unfunded Phd because when you start a Phd you never know what can happen. Projects get delayed due to one reason or because a research method didn't produce what you expect , you switch methods and many reasons beyond ones control.

Its a different conversation if it were to be that there is assurance about getting some type of funding as soon as you get there.Anyways since I am not you, I will probably will never see your own point of view. Good luck

Just as an observation and my little research just now, American centers are only housed in the Embassy and Consulate, but they are different from the two housing bodies. So the shutdown shouldn't affect visa interviews. See this link for more detail https://ng.usembassy.gov/education-culture/american-centers/

Godchangemylife:
Just saw this on FB

Exactly! I understand your viewpoint because that's the way I would have thought if all the vital details are not available to me, but I don't expect you to fully understand mine. And FYI, I don't intend doing the whole PhD as an unfunded student, I have interviewed with some of the faculty members and have a strong confidence of securing funding when I get there. Additionally, studying 3-4 months during spring and getting full-time summer internship is a great possibility given my experience... So I have done my calculations well ahead and I believe things should work...Other back up plans exist...My firm would have been sustainabl by the end of Feb/March next year and I can even independently cater for my studies

femi312:
Taking up the bold step to leave your comfort zone shows ambition and that you are not lazy. That is commendable since most people tend to always prefer staying put in there comfort zone other than thinking of the future.
However, I still don't agree with doing an unfunded Phd, its never worth it. I am pretty sure 95% of people doing phd today in the US won't be doing it if it weren't funded. You saying you want to start and wrap it up fast due to reason best known to you is not a good enough reason to take an unfunded Phd because when you start a Phd you never know what can happen. Projects get delayed due to one reason or because a research method didn't produce what you expect , you switch methods and many reasons beyond ones control.
Its a different conversation if it were to be that there is assurance about getting some type of funding as soon as you get there.Anyways since I am not you, I will probably will never see your own point of view. Goodluck

femi312:
Taking up the bold step to leave your comfort zone shows ambition and that you are not lazy. That is commendable since most people tend to always prefer staying put in there comfort zone other than thinking of the future.
However, I still don't agree with doing an unfunded Phd, its never worth it. I am pretty sure 95% of people doing phd today in the US won't be doing it if it weren't funded. You saying you want to start and wrap it up fast due to reason best known to you is not a good enough reason to take an unfunded Phd because when you start a Phd you never know what can happen. Projects get delayed due to one reason or because a research method didn't produce what you expect , you switch methods and many reasons beyond ones control.
Its a different conversation if it were to be that there is assurance about getting some type of funding as soon as you get there.Anyways since I am not you, I will probably will never see your own point of view. Goodluck

People don't get when you try to explain reality to them, not until they find themselves in it.
I transferred from my initial school to start afresh in another school just because the department was saying things I couldn't understand about funding. I wrote my qualifying exam in the just concluded fall semester, I can boldly say there's no way you can combine it with external stress/hustle, aside the class(es) you have to teach (yes, in-class instruction) as a PhD student.
PhD is not a program you can just rush through, calm down and get funded so you can enjoy it (at least, finances will be almost out of your worries). Even if you have the money, still calm down.

omoobaadeNGR:
Exactly! I understand your viewpoint because that's the way I would have thought if all the vital details are not available to me, but I don't expect you to fully understand mine. And FYI, I don't intend doing the whole PhD as an unfunded student, I have interviewed with some of the faculty members and have a strong confidence of securing funding when I get there. Additionally, studying 3-4 months during spring and getting full-time summer internship is a great possibility given my experience... So I have done my calculations well ahead and I believe things should work...Other back up plans exist...My firm would have been sustainabl by the end of Feb/March next year and I can even independently cater for my studies

You sound like a great planner, but please don't believe in something you don't have written on paper in the US. I have two friends that are kind of hooked now. One accepted funding from a professor he doesn't even have an idea of his research areas just to lightened his financial burden. If you can, I will advise you wait till fall semester and get the funding contract with your school. It's hard to sell at the embassy that you're funding yourself for a PhD program.

Thousands to miss visa appointments as US embassy closes indefinitely

https://punchng.com/thousands-of-nigerians-to-miss-visa-appointments-as-us-embassy-closes-indefinitely/?fbclid=IwAR2N4ACfZD17hVGJ2UO81qv87e7SnIGC6jJQxOwLNjF5iQhJ09-PAMMbtrA

omoobaadeNGR:
Exactly! I understand your viewpoint because that's the way I would have thought if all the vital details are not available to me, but I don't expect you to fully understand mine. And FYI, I don't intend doing the whole PhD as an unfunded student, I have interviewed with some of the faculty members and have a strong confidence of securing funding when I get there. Additionally, studying 3-4 months during spring and getting full-time summer internship is a great possibility given my experience... So I have done my calculations well ahead and I believe things should work...Other back up plans exist...My firm would have been sustainabl by the end of Feb/March next year and I can even independently cater for my studies

Okay all the best but I just want to point this out. Getting a full time summer internship after your spring semester is NOT a possibility. Except only if the rules have changed, you need to be a full time student for one full year before you can go on internship. You might want to double check if the rules have changed which I doubt.

oluezekiel:

You sound like a great planner, but please don't believe in something you don't have written on paper in the US. I have two friends that are kind of hooked now. One accepted funding from a professor he doesn't even have an idea of his research areas just to lightened his financial burden. If you can, I will advise you wait till fall semester and get the funding contract with your school. It's hard to sell at the embassy that you're funding yourself for a PhD program.

Thanks for the compliment. I understand quite well your concerns. I knew it's an uphill task convincing them at the embassy when self funding a doctorate degree. However, if she had been thorough and open minded enough, the CO would have approved me. However, let His will be done, nothing happens without a reason. If it's best for me to wait until Fall, I won't be able to do anything about it. Did you get funding from the other university you moved to? What field are you in?

oluezekiel:


People don't get when you try to explain reality to them, not until they find themselves in it.
I transferred from my initial school to start afresh in another school just because the department was saying things I couldn't understand about funding. I wrote my qualifying exam in the just concluded fall semester, I can boldly say there's no way you can combine it with external stress/hustle, aside the class(es) you have to teach (yes, in-class instruction) as a PhD student.
PhD is not a program you can just rush through, calm down and get funded so you can enjoy it (at least, finances will be almost out of your worries). Even if you have the money, still calm down.

It is well

VO or no VO, happy New Year beautiful people... My year of entry into the US whether the VO likes it or not.

Happy new yearrrrr

Thankful for a memorable 2018, and for this platform. When this thread opened in August, i only typed “amen” to a post on success to prospective visa applicants. Had my interview 3-4days later and it was indeed a success. My journey has been greener ever since. I pray that 2019 will be from your lips to God’s ears. To those that believe, keep believing. Happy new year

Happy new year scholars.

Ubah1:



The I-130 cannot be filed in Nigeria. It must be filed either through the USCIS Chicago lockbox or through their Phoenix lockbox. http://www.uscis.gov/i-130 has complete instructions.

The I-130 cannot be filed overseas at all except in very exceptional circumstances, such as certain military or medical emergencies.

Thank you very much for the info, so she will 've to file from there?

Amen!!! Happy Newyear

Sooredaniel:
Thankful for a memorable 2018, and for this platform. When this thread opened in August, i only typed “amen” to a post on success to prospective visa applicants. Had my interview 3-4days later and it was indeed a success. My journey has been greener ever since. I pray that 2019 will be from your lips to God’s ears. To those that believe, keep believing. Happy new year

omoobaadeNGR:

Thanks for the compliment. I understand quite well your concerns. I knew it's an uphill task convincing them at the embassy when self funding a doctorate degree. However, if she had been thorough and open minded enough, the CO would have approved me. However, let His will be done, nothing happens without a reason. If it's best for me to wait until Fall, I won't be able to do anything about it. Did you get funding from the other university you moved to? What field are you in?

Yes, I received the funding contract like 3 months before resumption. Electrical engineering is my major.
See, they don't work with open-mindedness or emotions (so to say), they work with logics and written instructions.

Sapalo007:
Thousands to miss visa appointments as US embassy closes indefinitely

https://punchng.com/thousands-of-nigerians-to-miss-visa-appointments-as-us-embassy-closes-indefinitely/?fbclid=IwAR2N4ACfZD17hVGJ2UO81qv87e7SnIGC6jJQxOwLNjF5iQhJ09-PAMMbtrA

The journalistic standard like most things in Nigeria is really appalling. This is the full quote from the Facebook page of Nigerian embassy: "Due to the current U.S. government shutdown, the American Centers located in the Embassy, Abuja and Consulate General, Lagos are unfortunately closed. They will re-open once the U.S. government shutdown is resolved. Sorry for any inconvenience to our valued patrons."

What is being referred to here are the American Centers which are cultural/research centers that are part of the Embassy and Consulate in Abuja and Lagos respectively. It is the American Centers that are closed and that's why patrons(member) were singled out for apologies(Are visa applicant patrons) ?. Normal consular activities, Visa interview, and issuance are not affected. At least for the time being. This is the link to the American center someone posted earlier. https://ng.usembassy.gov/education-culture/american-centers/