nastydamus:
I had my visa interview today and, thanks to the transcripts of others on this thread, I knew what to expect going in.

There was a heavy downpour that kept beating till 06:20am, after which we queued up to be let in.

On a side note, I saw a guy who came for his interview in shorts and sneakers, his interview was brief and he didn't leave with his passport. He was brimming with confidence and it worked for him, just saying.

cosxzbay:


I'm glad you referred me to her profile,and I agree she's highly motivated. Anyways, she mentioned Penn state and not Upenn.

chuksGilb:
I have no doubt benefitted immensely from this forum. Thank you to everyone. My Visa was approved 18/5/2017 at the VI consulate. I hope this helps someone as much as some of the transcripts I saw prior to my interview helped me.
VO: Good morning
Me: Good morning
VO: Please pass me your passport and your I-20
VO: Why are you going to the US
Me: I am going for my Doctorate degree in Chemistry at Syracuse University
VO: what is your highest education qualification?
Me: BSc Chemistry
VO: Oh. How did you manage to get into a straight PhD Program?
Me: A combination of high undergrad GPA and research experience gained from working with one of the research-oriented faculty members in my Department. Gave her a breakdown of my prior research experience and my research interest.
VO: Tell me about your school application process to your chosen school?
Me: Well, when I discovered SU, my next point of call was the website of the chemistry department, after reading about the department, I went ahead to visit the web page of all the faculty research groups to know what research they were into. I requested for copies of recent journal articles from two faculty members with similar research interest after an initial electronic correspondence. They gladly obliged. Then I discovered that a particular professor had an ongoing research work that had a wonderful overlap with my research interest. I sent an e-mail to this professor, indicated my interest in joining her research group and requested to know if there would be space available in her lab for fall 2017. After this, I prepared and sat for the GRE exams, then I prepared my SOP and requested for letters of recommendation from my lecturer after which I completed and paid for an online application.
VO: Good. How are you going to fund your studies?
Me: I received a full tuition scholarship in an addition to a TA position during the school year and RA during the summer.
VO: Wow. Congratulations. Do you have any family member in Nigeria?
Me: My whole nuclear family resides in Nigeria.
VO: Oh. Okay. Sorry, my computer is freezing. If you had studied computer science, you would have been able to help me out with this. But, I think chemistry is better for you.
Me: *almost faints upon hearing "sorry"* Well, I like to think that chemistry is life, everything around you is chemistry, but Computer science is a decent course too, computer scientists are like the doctors of today.
VO: *takes her hand across the stack of blue papers into a cabinet and pulls out one of the “whites”* your research sounds very exciting, pick up your visa on Tuesday.

I give all the Glory to God. God is good. While I was on the queue waiting for my turn to be interviewed, I could not help but notice a number of responses from people that were being interviewed seemed crammed. I think it is important that prospective applicants appear calm and confident. I do not think that the interview transcripts posted here are not meant to be crammed, but to serve as guidelines for preparation. Good luck to all future applicants.

chuksGilb:
I have no doubt benefitted immensely from this forum. Thank you to everyone. My Visa was approved 18/5/2017 at the VI consulate

cosxzbay:


I'm glad you referred me to her profile,and I agree she's highly motivated. Anyways, she mentioned Penn state and not Upenn.

LagosismyHome:


All these Nigerians snapping up the funding Positions, una too much oooo..God is watching you oo . Welldone

May God bless your new journey. Amen. Congrats

EZEIGBO1OFIMO:
what's was your undergrad Uni and CGPA and TOEFL score if you don't mind

chuksGilb:

My profile:
GRE: 317
GPA:4.86/5
Schools: Auburn University(Waitlisted), University of Toledo(Accepted) and Syracuse(Accepted).

chuksGilb:
I have no doubt benefitted immensely from this forum. Thank you to everyone. My Visa was approved 18/5/2017 at the VI consulate. I hope this helps someone as much as some of the transcripts I saw prior to my interview helped me.
VO: Good morning
Me: Good morning
VO: Please pass me your passport and your I-20
VO: Why are you going to the US
Me: I am going for my Doctorate degree in Chemistry at Syracuse University
VO: what is your highest education qualification?
Me: BSc Chemistry
VO: Oh. How did you manage to get into a straight PhD Program?
Me: A combination of high undergrad GPA and research experience gained from working with one of the research-oriented faculty members in my Department. Gave her a breakdown of my prior research experience and my research interest.
VO: Tell me about your school application process to your chosen school?
Me: Well, when I discovered SU, my next point of call was the website of the chemistry department, after reading about the department, I went ahead to visit the web page of all the faculty research groups to know what research they were into. I requested for copies of recent journal articles from two faculty members with similar research interest after an initial electronic correspondence. They gladly obliged. Then I discovered that a particular professor had an ongoing research work that had a wonderful overlap with my research interest. I sent an e-mail to this professor, indicated my interest in joining her research group and requested to know if there would be space available in her lab for fall 2017. After this, I prepared and sat for the GRE exams, then I prepared my SOP and requested for letters of recommendation from my lecturer after which I completed and paid for an online application.
VO: Good. How are you going to fund your studies?
Me: I received a full tuition scholarship in an addition to a TA position during the school year and RA during the summer.
VO: Wow. Congratulations. Do you have any family member in Nigeria?
Me: My whole nuclear family resides in Nigeria.
VO: Oh. Okay. Sorry, my computer is freezing. If you had studied computer science, you would have been able to help me out with this. But, I think chemistry is better for you.
Me: *almost faints upon hearing "sorry"* Well, I like to think that chemistry is life, everything around you is chemistry, but Computer science is a decent course too, computer scientists are like the doctors of today.
VO: *takes her hand across the stack of blue papers into a cabinet and pulls out one of the “whites”* your research sounds very exciting, pick up your visa on Tuesday.

I give all the Glory to God. God is good. While I was on the queue waiting for my turn to be interviewed, I could not help but notice a number of responses from people that were being interviewed seemed crammed. I think it is important that prospective applicants appear calm and confident. I do not think that the interview transcripts posted here are not meant to be crammed, but to serve as guidelines for preparation. Good luck to all future applicants.

LagosismyHome:

.

chuksGilb:
I have no doubt benefitted immensely from this forum. Thank you to everyone. My Visa was approved 18/5/2017 at the VI consulate. I hope this helps someone as much as some of the transcripts I saw prior to my interview helped me.

chiinnwee:
I'm a single mum of triplets, i am applying for F1 visa, don't know if i should list my children as my strong ties and if i do, what are my chances as they are yet to be two years old?
Thank you

chiinnwee:
I'm a single mum of triplets, i am applying for F1 visa, don't know if i should list my children as my strong ties and if i do, what are my chances as they are yet to be two years old?
Thank you

LagosismyHome:


Wow nice one triple blessing but triple work....welldone ....i am a multiple mum as well although not triplets....

But how will you cope going to school and taking care of them alone except you plan to leave them in Nigeria while you study....anyway if you have kids then list them as your dependants whether they are travelling or not

smithsydny:
3 woow.. Beautiful

nastydamus:
I had my visa interview today and, thanks to the transcripts of others on this thread, I knew what to expect going in.

There was a heavy downpour that kept beating till 06:20am, after which we queued up to be let in.

I was interviewed by a lady on the extreme left hand side (facing the VO's).
I was her second interviewee for the day after she'd dished out a blue paper to the first person.

The interview:

VO: good morning
Me: good morning
VO: pass me your passport, i-20 and sevis receipt
Me: did as she asked
VO: so why Drexel University?
Me: I carried out an extensive research online for schools that would match my test scores and research interests, and two universities were a perfect fit for me - Drexel University and Unl.
VO: so you applied to the two?
Me: yes, and both offered me assistantships (not the full story sha, I'd applied to four schools in the Spring '17 admission window and got rejects from all four, didn't see the need to wake 'sleeping dogs')
VO: so why Drexel?
Me: I'd reached out to a professor at Drexel University who shares similar research interests with me and she was excited about the prospect of having me as her student. She urged me to apply and made me an offer as soon as she received my formal application.
VO: what course are you going there to study?
Me: I'm going to Drexel University to pursue a PhD degree in Electrical & Electronics Engineering, specializing in communications engineering
VO: I see you'll be there for 5 years with stipends?
Me: yes
VO: what was your first degree in?
Me: Electrical Engineering
VO: you also have a master's degree?
Me: yes, in Telecommunications Engineering
VO: what are your plans for after your PhD?
Me: I intend to return to Nigeria to take up a lecturing position whilst providing consultancy services when the opportunity presents itself
VO: congratulations on your funding, you'll be picking up your passport in Port Harcourt right?
Me: Yes

Thanks everyone, the transcripts on this thread are invaluable and I'll keep pointing my friends in this direction.
Goodluck to other Fall '17 F1 hopefuls.

On a side note, I saw a guy who came for his interview in shorts and sneakers, his interview was brief and he didn't leave with his passport. He was brimming with confidence and it worked for him, just saying.

electronic:


Chemistry and Funding!!
Congrats!!

temi4fash:


As in they seem to getting lots of funding compared to the Engineering guys

chuksGilb:
I have no doubt benefitted immensely from this forum. Thank you to everyone. My Visa was approved 18/5/2017 at the VI consulate. I hope this helps someone as much as some of the transcripts I saw prior to my interview helped me.
VO: Good morning
Me: Good morning
VO: Please pass me your passport and your I-20
VO: Why are you going to the US
Me: I am going for my Doctorate degree in Chemistry at Syracuse University
VO: what is your highest education qualification?
Me: BSc Chemistry
VO: Oh. How did you manage to get into a straight PhD Program?
Me: A combination of high undergrad GPA and research experience gained from working with one of the research-oriented faculty members in my Department. Gave her a breakdown of my prior research experience and my research interest.
VO: Tell me about your school application process to your chosen school?
Me: Well, when I discovered SU, my next point of call was the website of the chemistry department, after reading about the department, I went ahead to visit the web page of all the faculty research groups to know what research they were into. I requested for copies of recent journal articles from two faculty members with similar research interest after an initial electronic correspondence. They gladly obliged. Then I discovered that a particular professor had an ongoing research work that had a wonderful overlap with my research interest. I sent an e-mail to this professor, indicated my interest in joining her research group and requested to know if there would be space available in her lab for fall 2017. After this, I prepared and sat for the GRE exams, then I prepared my SOP and requested for letters of recommendation from my lecturer after which I completed and paid for an online application.
VO: Good. How are you going to fund your studies?
Me: I received a full tuition scholarship in an addition to a TA position during the school year and RA during the summer.
VO: Wow. Congratulations. Do you have any family member in Nigeria?
Me: My whole nuclear family resides in Nigeria.
VO: Oh. Okay. Sorry, my computer is freezing. If you had studied computer science, you would have been able to help me out with this. But, I think chemistry is better for you.
Me: *almost faints upon hearing "sorry"* Well, I like to think that chemistry is life, everything around you is chemistry, but Computer science is a decent course too, computer scientists are like the doctors of today.
VO: *takes her hand across the stack of blue papers into a cabinet and pulls out one of the “whites”* your research sounds very exciting, pick up your visa on Tuesday.

I give all the Glory to God. God is good. While I was on the queue waiting for my turn to be interviewed, I could not help but notice a number of responses from people that were being interviewed seemed crammed. I think it is important that prospective applicants appear calm and confident. I do not think that the interview transcripts posted here are not meant to be crammed, but to serve as guidelines for preparation. Good luck to all future applicants.

sojax2cool:
Please does the colour of the stamp on the form i-20 matters for ur visa acceptance or rejection? course a friend was given a red stamp and another a yellow stamp thesame course and school.

OluDare01:
Says who
There's more funding for Engineering students

temi4fash:


Still searching though

OluDare01:
You should know that it is more competitive than for the sciences and you guys plenty like kilode

temi4fash:


Looool

As in no be here..

I saw an Indian GPA on gradcafe and am like Jeeez? Ki lo de

3.98/4

The waka self don dai taya me small small

chuksGilb:
I have no doubt benefitted immensely from this forum. Thank you to everyone. My Visa was approved 18/5/2017 at the VI consulate. I hope this helps someone as much as some of the transcripts I saw prior to my interview helped me.

VO: Oh. Okay. Sorry, my computer is freezing. If you had studied computer science, you would have been able to help me out with this. But, I think chemistry is better for you.
Me: *almost faints upon hearing "sorry"* Well, I like to think that chemistry is life, everything around you is chemistry, but Computer science is a decent course too, computer scientists are like the doctors of today.
VO: *takes her hand across the stack of blue papers into a cabinet and pulls out one of the “whites”* your research sounds very exciting, pick up your visa on Tuesday.

I give all the Glory to God. God is good. While I was on the queue waiting for my turn to be interviewed, I could not help but notice a number of responses from people that were being interviewed seemed crammed.

OluDare01:
You need a very good profile to get into those schools. A friend didn't get funding with 4.74/5 GRE 227 Toefl 107 (Civil Eng)

OluDare01:
chuksGilb congrats and welcome to America. Syracuse is a good school, my cousin just graduated from that same department.
We chemistry folks don dey plenty small o
Hope you don't mind if I send you a pm?