₦airaland Forum

cezeozue:
Everytime I post my stats on nl, it disappears. Anyway, here goes nothing:

GPA: 4.83/5.00 at a Nigerian Federal University
GRE: Q=800, V=730, AW=4.5
Academic Research Experience: Minimal. Computer programs for 2 lecturers' research projects
Work Experience: 2 Years in a local software company
LORs: 1 PhD Holder, 2 PhD students, 2 current employers (I mixed and matched them for the various schools)
Applied to: MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, Caltech, UPenn, Penn State, Johns Hopkins, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, UIUC and Columbia (mix of Masters and PhD)

Anything else?

With this profile, You have no business going for a grad school in Nigeria.

If you applied to TAMU or UTAustin, I have a feeling you would have been admitted at one if not the two, Well all the best

Hi Ladies and Gentlemen,

Compliments of the season, I reckon most people planning for their admission for next year have started applying or probably finished their applications. I wish you all (including myself) the best.
I'd like to make my small addition to make this thread as informative as always,

Firstly, a very important part of the application is the statement of purpose. This site was quite useful to me. Hope it'd be of assistance as well.
http://www.essayforum.com/graduate-admission-4/
Secondly, I'm sure you all are also aware of the new GRE format that would be starting next year. What do you think about it?
Check this link out to see the changes, Which format do you think is better?

http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/gre-quantitative-reasoning-revised-gre/

http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/gre-verbal-old-vs-revised-gre-2011/

Furthermore, for Nigerians who want to pay for their application fees online, I was advised to use the Zenith bank prepaid VISA card, it's easy to get and it is allowed by most universities. Although, there are some universities that don't accept VISA cards.
Just my little input to the success of this thread.

cezeozue:
I have a friend rounding up his Masters at MIT and that's the much I know from Nsukka.

Impress! I mean your friend. I will like to know a bit about his profile as a friend of mine is also interested in MIT.

About application fee payment, Visa from Zenith (both from the Cash Domiciliary account and Buxz) sufficed for most schools but for the schools on the Applyweb network (MIT, Stanford, Princeton, ETH Zurich etc), the Visa cards did not work. In fact, I had to transfer money to a cousin in the US (I paid $50 in charges for that) to help out with the Applyweb schools.

Another one that stressed me was TU Delft (I applied after November 1 and was required to pay the fees). Unfortunately, they required that I transfer the money to a bank account in the Netherlands, I tried bank transfer from GTB but they said they weren't transferring euros at the time. I then looked at a couple of online services (Xoom, Mukuru) and tried Mukuru. After wasting my time, Mukuru refused to effect the payment. They had issues with me using a prepaid card and refunded my money shortly after. Any more ideas anyone?

Impress! I mean your friend. I will like to know a bit about his profile as a friend of mine is also interested in MIT.

My friend had 800 in his GRE Quantitative and 780 in his GRE verbal. He also has a 2.1 (with a very high GPA) from UNN.

^Thanks for your generous reply. His profile is quite impressive.

I am having a hard time seeing why cezeozue should apply to more schools. His gpa is fine, gre fine, research might be so so, but I have seen several people get into some of those schools with so so research experience. Penn state atleast. These schools know/understand the naija system, so all they need to see is intelligence and commitment. I think his profile shows that. I'll even say maybe Columbia should be good for him, depending on what you apply for. Maybe I am mistaken or something, but is there a huge disparity between people applying from naija and those applying from the US?

Hey cezeozue, so you do know what your gpa is on a 4.0 scale? I plan on applying to grad next cycle, so I am looking for all the info I can get. You might also want to check out carnegie mellon, but you kinda have to be a beast to get in. Why do you think Cambridge/oxford rejected you? I am planning on applying there, and I thought I would be a show in , but I am having second thoughts now.

@sefago: I need tips on applying to yale/harvard and even cambrigde too. so where did you end up going? not yale I guess?

Hey cezeozue, so you do know what your gpa is on a 4.0 scale? I plan on applying to grad next cycle, so I am looking for all the info I can get. You might also want to check out carnegie mellon, but you kinda have to be a beast to get in. Why do you think Cambridge/oxford rejected you? I am planning on applying there, and I thought I would be a show in , but I am having second thoughts now.

@sefago: I need tips on applying to yale/harvard and even cambrigde too. so where did you end up going? not yale I guess?

For confidentiality reasons, cant tell you much. However, do you just want to go to these schools for their names or because of the research going on?

Why not consider engineering powerhouses first before ivy leagues. You know engineers dont send big name universities. What type of program will you applying to at Yale and Harvard. Cambridge would be easy for you if you have the GPA you had previously. Yale would also be very easy but your research interest must match a professor. Email a professor who has the same interest you have. My advise, try and visit a conference with one of the professors from the program you are interested in, corner him, and start chatting with him. Then insert you might consider applying for a PhD at so-so school. It could end disastrously of course (I tried it once last year, and the professor just ignored me) but its a 50-50.

Harvard might be a bit iffy but also easy. I think you can get into everywhere you apply even MIT and Caltech

With respect to cezeozue many things can happen. I am judging his profile based on the assumption that he would be taken as an international student and compared to other people. Also since I am not in engineering, I am not really aware of what goes on there. He might get into Harvard and he might not. It all depends on his luck. I dont know if they treat people from naja any different.

Hey cezeozue, so you do know what your gpa is on a 4.0 scale?

Using simple proportion I should have a GPA of about 3.86 on a 4.0 scale.

Why do you think Cambridge/oxford rejected you?

I have a number of hypothesis about this:

1. Abdulmutallab or whatever his name was. His incident occurred smack in the middle of the application season
2. Credit crunch. I needed serious funding.
3. A general disregard for degrees earned in Nigeria
4. Late submission of application materials (Cambridge's arrived the day after the deadline)
5. Lack of research experience (I applied for the PhD at Oxford)
6. Mistakes in my Cambridge application. I forgot a certain instruction pertaining to me essay.
7. Weakness of my recommendations (unknown recommenders, generic and DWIC letters etc)
8. Misaligned research interests. I did not list interests in line with any profs' interests in the department.

What undergraduate program did you attend?

Avoid my mistakes. I wish you all the best. If its any encouragement, I have a friend who earned a 2.1 (I think his GPA was quite high though) from LAUTECH and he got Cambridge + Gates. Funnily, an unfortunate turn of events made him not to attend.



These are the much I can think of at the moment

1. Abdulmutallab or whatever his name was. His incident occurred smack in the middle of the application season

Hahaha

University of Leeds UK, International Scholarship.

Hurry!! while it lasts.

http://german-scholarship..com/2010/12/9-fully-funded-international-research.html

cezeozue:
Using simple proportion I should have a GPA of about 3.86 on a 4.0 scale.

What undergraduate program did you attend?

Avoid my mistakes. I wish you all the best. If its any encouragement, I have a friend who earned a 2.1 (I think his GPA was quite high though) from LAUTECH and he got Cambridge + Gates. Funnily, an unfortunate turn of events made him not to attend.

These are the much I can think of at the moment

5
I attend a decent school in the us. In final year. Technically, I should be done but my thesis is taking longer than expected so I decided to do the 5 yr bs/ms thing they have here. So far, I think my research experience is just meh. No publications to show for it, and it is getting much more difficult than I thought. I'll keep at it though.

Right now, I am looking into anything that is at the intersection of biology, engineering and math. Traditional engineering is becoming boring to me. One field that fits this mold is control theory/systems biology and applied math. Right now, if I were to send in applications I would apply broadly to EE, biology and applied math departments to study control theory and applied math in relation to bio. I was originally interested in bio-mems, but from my experience with it so far, the field is more like a means to an end. It is not the actual koko. those are my interests. I am also part of a research group now, but let's see how that goes.

cezeozue thanks for the detailed list. I have to say that mutallab guy really spoilt show for you oh. I am going to keep those things in mind when I apply. Hopefully, you'll have a much better cycle. stay optimistic

SEFAGO:
For confidentiality reasons, cant tell you much. However, do you just want to go to these schools for their names or because of the research going on?

Since I am no longer considering straight up engineering disciplines anymore, places that value an interdisciplinary environment are the places I am generally looking at. From my research so far, all those schools encourage it a lot. They also have a lot of funding in these areas. I just don't want to be another poor grad student. I'd rather go into something that I am really interested in. A last option that I have actually considered seriously is the exit options. If I come out of the other end not wanting to be a researcher(I doubt it) anymore, atleast I'd have a lot more options than other places. Another thing is that most of these schools have great medical schools or life science departments that like collaborating with their engineering departments, so I think these are the places to be.

How did all you people study for the gre. I have been under the assumption that it shouldn't be too bad. A friend of mine took it and scored 800 620, complained a lot about the verbal. what tips do guys have for that section. They are actually about to switch things up, so I guess I better take it kia kia.

have always admire this trend for a long time now, Now i surmise is now my turn to make postings and get/give contribution. Am warming up for fall 12 admission, so my application wud b rolling out in the next 6-8 months, I wish all gre aspirants and contributors season's greetings.

Happy New year All, esp. Fall 2011 hopefuls. Success!

[quote author=Dr.amad.i link=topic=943.msg7465226#msg7465226 date=1294220292]call me for admission help now[/quote]Did u see ur type here?

monex:
Hi Everyone. It's nice to read these comments.

I need some advice.

I am currently considering doing a masters (computer science) in the US by distance learning/online as i am not keen on quitting my current job in an oil major in nigeria for a masters. i checked schools in the UK but found that they hardly do the distance learning except liverpool/hertfordshire etc.

i have a b.sc (2.1) computer science from the university of benin (2006) and have worked 2+ yrs in an invest. bank and some months in an oil/gas firm. i also have some IT/project mgmt. certifications (JAVA/Oracle/PMP/ITIL)

i just started preparing for the GRE and i am not particularly interested in funding/financial aid. i am considering the schools below that offer m.sc computer sc. (online option). i:

John Hopkins, Columbia, illinois at urbana-champaign, Colorado at Boulder
Colorado State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology
University of Hawaii,


do u think an online masters would be helpful in my career?
what are my chances in these schools as i have little or no research experience?
some of these schools ask for a 3.3/4.0 GPA. How does my 4.01/5 GPA translate to an "over 4.0" GPA?

thanks for your expected responses.

my message keeps dissaperaring. Mods what is happening

^^ Online master programmes should be flexible enough to allow you, to some reasonable extent, plan your study by yourself. This means it might not include significant research component. And as such, lack of previous research experience should not pose any threat to admission in my opinion, moreso that you can fend for yourself financially. Actually, with your profile, you should get into a couple of your choice schools (I don't know if online programmes require GRE and subject GRE; if they do, make sure you blast them).
I am not a computer scientist and I don't know anyone in that career path so I cannot comment on how helpful a master degree can be to your career. A move of this kind should entirely be your decision.
Wish you the best.

monex:
my message keeps dissaperaring. Mods what is happening

me too, thats y i hardly post.
Why waste my time when one f.o.ol. ish mod wudnt post my msg!

cezeozue:
Everytime I post my stats on nl, it disappears. Anyway, here goes nothing:

GPA: 4.83/5.00 at a Nigerian Federal University
GRE: Q=800, V=730, AW=4.5
Academic Research Experience: Minimal. Computer programs for 2 lecturers' research projects
Work Experience: 2 Years in a local software company
LORs: 1 PhD Holder, 2 PhD students, 2 current employers (I mixed and matched them for the various schools)
Applied to: MIT, Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, Caltech, UPenn, Penn State, Johns Hopkins, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, UIUC and Columbia (mix of Masters and PhD)

Anything else?

Hey cezeozue, with your profile, I wouldn't loose sleep about getting into any of the schools above. I have lots of friends in the top schools and the average profile looks pretty close to what you have. Caltech is probably the only exception (only few people seem abke to figure their admission structure). But I think MIT, Stanford, UIUC and Princeton (these are schools where I have a couple of friends) would almost certainly want to have you unless things have changed since the last time I worried about grad school, which was in 2006.

Let me know if you get into Stanford. It's lovely here and although I'll be gone by the time you start in the fall (I'm graduating this summer), I'll love to convince you to come to Stanford.

By the way, just like you, I did undergrad in Nigeria (Chemical Engineering in UNILAG) and my profile was pretty close to yours and I only applied to Stanford and UT Austin (for US) and Cambridge (for the UK - free application!).

@2good:

Greetings from Palo Alto.

@niklee: I know I said I won't comment on my chances again but I must say thank you for the encouragement. I'll definitely put up my decisions as they come in. I wish we could chat a little more. If you dont mind, you could send me an email so we can get the conversation going. Kindly send it to thisbighead at gmail dot com. I'll give you my real email address from there.

@Nicklee and any other informed person.

I presently have a 3.8 and will probably have a 3.9 at the end of the last semester before I apply to graduate school. My GRE scores are Q:800, V:750, W:5. The problem is I go to a very small, perhaps inferior, school. My school is a 3-tier school according to USNWR. In fact we have little to no research opportunities. I attended a summer research experience last summer and will do one more before I apply to grad school. I will also complete and Honors Thesis and do some research with a professor at a nearby better school. What schools should I consider safeties? I really like MIT. What are my chances for MIT, Stanford, OSU, UC Berkely, Penn State, CMU, UT Austin?

It seems that some from a Nigerian federal school with similar stats to my mine, except probably for the research experience, will have a very good chance. That is interesting because I left Ife to the US to explore these opportunities and it now seems as though I will have a better chance of attending the best engineering schools by remaining in Ife.

^ dont worry u will likely get into MIT anyways. From what I have seen. CMU is tough though- maybe as tough as MIT to get into.

I will give you guys more advise. I am actually busy now.

[quote author=flo_path link=topic=943.msg7391132#msg7391132 date=1293047559]5
I attend a decent school in the us. In final year. Technically, I should be done but my thesis is taking longer than expected so I decided to do the 5 yr bs/ms thing they have here. So far, I think my research experience is just meh. No publications to show for it, and it is getting much more difficult than I thought. I'll keep at it though.

Right now, I am looking into anything that is at the intersection of biology, engineering and math. Traditional engineering is becoming boring to me. One field that fits this mold is control theory/systems biology and applied math. Right now, if I were to send in applications I would apply broadly to EE, biology and applied math departments to study control theory and applied math in relation to bio. I was originally interested in bio-mems, but from my experience with it so far, the field is more like a means to an end. It is not the actual koko. those are my interests. I am also part of a research group now, but let's see how that goes.

cezeozue thanks for the detailed list. I have to say that mutallab guy really spoilt show for you oh. I am going to keep those things in mind when I apply. Hopefully, you'll have a much better cycle. stay optimistic

Since I am no longer considering straight up engineering disciplines anymore, places that value an interdisciplinary environment are the places I am generally looking at. From my research so far, all those schools encourage it a lot. They also have a lot of funding in these areas. I just don't want to be another poor grad student. I'd rather go into something that I am really interested in. A last option that I have actually considered seriously is the exit options. If I come out of the other end not wanting to be a researcher(I doubt it) anymore, atleast I'd have a lot more options than other places. Another thing is that most of these schools have great medical schools or life science departments that like collaborating with their engineering departments, so I think these are the places to be.

How did all you people study for the gre. I have been under the assumption that it shouldn't be too bad. A friend of mine took it and scored 800 620, complained a lot about the verbal. what tips do guys have for that section. They are actually about to switch things up, so I guess I better take it kia kia.[/quote]Dude it would be a mistake to go to yale or even Havard if you can get into MIT to be honest. Forget about how boring your research is, and think about what would happen if you went to a top 10 program. However, for your research area, Yale actually is very focussed and obssessed with systems biology, a lot of the professors work in that field. I can mention professors for you that are into that field. If you mention an interest in that research area, I can guarantee you two things

- Your application will be likely in the top ten of applicants
- You will get additional funding in excess of 33,000 dollars stipend. They have additional stipends for engineering biology. My bet is that you will easily get into even if your GPA is a 3.4. They are pretty snobby at the engineering department at Yale- for a none top 10-, and like Ivy league undergrads or people from oxbridge. But they have a huge crowd from Rice University, dont know why though.

I will give you more info that will likely assure you a place at Yale, though it seems that you could get into MIT. And MIT>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Havard and Yale fro engineering.

@SEFAGO

Waiting for more advise and expatiation. Are you also doing a PhD? Did you do your undergrad in America? What, in retrospect, will you have done when you applied to make yourself a better candidate?