So, like I promised here https://www.nairaland.com/2087594/international-postgraduate-scholarships I would be providing what in my opinion is the best way to secure admissions for postgraduate study abroad.

By far the simplest way is if you have a friend that has worked with a professor abroad recommend you to his boss. You will notice research groups abroad have a certain bias for certain races, the students are mostly always above 70% from a certain country or continent or geographical location. So, if you have the connection, use it.

If on the other hand you don't know anybody then you will find the following pointers very useful.

How best to go about gaining admissions

First you need to research schools that offer the PG programme you want to pursue. Don't restrict yourself to popular universities which are highly sought after and more competitive. You can start by looking at the continent you will like to study in, the Americas (USA), the UK, ASIA, AUSTRALIA, SOUTH AFRICA (or other African universities), and SOUTH AMERICA. Your choice of location determines what kind of preparation you need to make. For instance, if you want to go to the US, you MUST take TOEFL and GRE/GMAT to stand any chance of being considered at all whereas to go to a UK school you only need - though not always - a good IELTS/TOEFL score.

Getting a good enough score in these tests depends on your level of preparation especially for the GRE/GMAT, and the more time you have to prepare the better equipped you are to get good scores.

Next you need to look at the different research groups in your prospective department. Look at profiles of their professors and see the type of research they engage in, study their publications and see if they're up your alley and if you will feel comfortable studying those kinds of stuff. Don't feel intimidated by the 'grandiosness' of the titles/abstracts of their papers...I tell you there not so complicated...they're in actual fact very easy to get a handle on if you are a studious and dedicated type.

After narrowing down your choices (always keep your choices open and as many as possible, because you never know who will pick interest in you), get their contacts and do them an email.

Your email should let him/her know how you got her/his contacts, introduce yourself and your background (school attended, class of degree, what kind of work you've done, as per your final year project or any other projects). This should be closely followed by accolades for the potential supervisor with respect to his/her research generally or a paper you were particularly interested in. Then why you want to join his/her team and what drives/motivates you for postgraduate study.

Needless to say, this is your chance for a first impression which is probably the only chance you're ever going to get to impress or depress. You written English should be clear and not long-winded. Proper punctuation, tenses and language structure should be observed, they pick up on these things. Attach your CV and/or transcripts and mention in the body of the email that she/he should kindly look at them. Indicate your willingness to discuss further should she/he need clarification.

Keep your fingers crossed and wait for a regret mail (hopefully not), a mail for clarification, a positive mail or even nothing at all (so many of them just ignore certain mail or it gets into the spam folder)...whatever the case, don't give up, keep trying until you break through.

If you do succeed, strive to make a reasonably good impression on your potential supervisor (for God, your country and for posterity - you might be the link someone will depend on in the future). You'll have to be hardworking and 'smartworking' and may God bless your hustle.

Cheerios!

Questions are welcome and I'll do my utmost to do justice. I'll update this if I remember anything I missed out.

I park my camry here....

Ok following

Thanks alot for the write up..... please which countries can post graduate admission easily be secured?

Thanks once again for the write up sir lobell. you did it. i appreciate greatly