cezeozue:

Another offer came in last night: University of Wisconsin-Madison. No funding information yet but I can contact the professors for RA appointments. Biko, what and what do I need to say in my emails to the professors? NKnight? Sefago?

Congrats man !

Good thing you have been given the green for contact. Have you accepted? How far with Stanford? Give their offer full consideration too o. My friends there are enjoying proper silicon tan ooo . Unfortunately, I don't have any friends at Madison. But here are a few general pointers. For now keep all introductory emails short. Profs don't have time.

Get a short resume ready, preferably one page. Be sure to include any publication, project (term paper or assignment if need be) SIMILAR to (not necessarily same as) the prof's research thrusts.

I would suggest for now you don't ask directly for an RA, rather show interest in his/her research and in joining the team. Ofcourse by now you should have read up the research web pages of the Profs you wish to contact so you can yarn proper.

Don't forget to attach your resume (preferably in pdf fomat). And use a good "subject" like "New graduate student, "

Be patient and give a few days for a response. Profs get a huge number of mails everyday.

Good hunting!

@NKnight: Trust me, I've given the Stanford offer extremely full consideration but without funding, $86k is going to be hard to come up with.

@ cezeozue, I'm in the same dilemma. I've been admitted but nothing yet as concerns funding. Before I got the admit, I contacted Prof. X who is a Nigerian and we exchange emails but it was mostly about my stats, chances of getting admitted and the kind of research he is into. I noticed he always avoided my questions about funding. I quote "funding cannot be guaranteed at this time" bla bla. I really want to work with Prof X but funding is a big factor here. I was tipped to contact Prof Y who is in a different research area (one I also like but not as much as Prof X's). I've been wondering how to compose the email to Prof Y, and how Prof X might react if he finds out I'm contacting other Profs. Nknight, Sefago, and others, please I need your inputs on this.

About what type of GRE to write, like the others said, the devil you know is better.

@superbrain: You've been admitted to Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison?

@ cezeozue, No. Penn State University.

@ Nknight, thanks for the tip you gave but pls comment about my case.

@ceze, once again congrats my friend. Now the problem of choice I predicted is mounting up, get ready!
Starts contacting Profs for funding, Stanford's $86k (over N12,8m) is f**k much, i'm sure if nothing comes up sha, u may pay for ur 1st yr and be considered for TA/RA with an incredible 1st semester performance, pls ask Nknight for more info sha, just my 2cent and i'm not sure.

@myforumid: thanks for the encouragement.

Meanwhile, my MIT decision just came in. The day just keeps getting better. No specific funding information yet but its looking good:

The vast majority of TPP students fund their studies through research assistantships offered by individual faculty members.

@ cezeozue, big congrats man. That's a big one. Pray your department nominates you for the ODGE fellowship. A friend of mine at MIT got it two years ago. Once again, congrats.

cezeozue:

@myforumid: thanks for the encouragement.

Meanwhile, my MIT decision just came in. The day just keeps getting better. No specific funding information yet but its looking good:

Yes! I'm not surprised. i knew it was going to be a flood of acceptances for you, cezeozue; and, like NKnight once said, the real difficulty will be making a decision about where to go eventually. One of my firends also had to choose out of 9 fully funded offers, and that obviously took him days of 'joyful worries'.
Be calm, you WILL get full funding for the PhD programmes that accept you. With your profile, you might even get sizeable amount of funding (if not full) if the offer is Masters. You've got a strong profile man, and the big names will be willing to draw you to themselves.
Congratulations

@ceze, I'm so happy for you.
tabarita is right, MIT and co offering u PhD wud def. give you funding. Just wait for the others to come n be calm.
I'm up for MIT but the final choice is yours (wahala dey sha!), Cant wait to pop the champagne and I hp u'd leave lag to D** lets celebrate and plan our US trip together? lol

Congrats my friend.

myforumid3:

@ceze, once again congrats my friend. Now the problem of choice I predicted is mounting up, get ready!
Starts contacting Profs for funding, Stanford's $86k (over N12,8m) is be intimate with much, i'm sure if nothing comes up sha, u may pay for your 1st yr and be considered for TA/RA with an incredible 1st semester performance, pls ask Nknight for more info sha, just my 2cent and i'm not sure.

What d F**k was I typ_thinking,
Well, Thank God y'all got da msg. Plenty things at a time.

i get it, d f word, i tot even wif "**" in btw wud do.
ok mod. i get it.
i almost screamed after the 2nd time.

NKnight:

Congrats man !

Don't forget to attach your resume (preferably in pdf fomat). And use a good "subject" like "New graduate student, "

Please I meant subject for the email! Resumes don't need a subject, in fact do not print CV or Resume at the top (common mistake).

@ cezeozue, I'm in the same dilemma. I've been admitted but nothing yet as concerns funding. Before I got the admit, I contacted Prof. X who is a Nigerian and we exchange emails but it was mostly about my stats, chances of getting admitted and the kind of research he is into. I noticed he always avoided my questions about funding. I quote "funding cannot be guaranteed at this time" bla bla. I really want to work with Prof X but funding is a big factor here. I was tipped to contact Prof Y who is in a different research area (one I also like but not as much as Prof X's). I've been wondering how to compose the email to Prof Y, and how Prof X might react if he finds out I'm contacting other Profs. Nknight, Sefago, and others, please I need your inputs on this.

About what type of GRE to write, like the others said, the devil you know is better.

Congrats on the admit! Good job!
How many admits do you have? How far has the discussion with the prof gone? For most situations I advice not to ask directly for funding. Then again it depends on many factors like individual preference, number of admits, prof-student interaction, time available and so on, Many roads lead to the market, your choice usually depends on where you live.

If you have only one admit I suggest you contact other profs with similar interests as yours.

That being said,

Congrats to all with admits but no funding. It's not an ideal situation (especially if fingers are still fingers) but you still have a chance.

A good (and sometimes not so good) situation arises when your prof is of the same nationality i.e. Nigerian. I have not worked with any Nigerian Prof but I know many students who had great Nigerian advisers and some who didnt have it so good. Its not all the time that the devil you know is better than the angel you don't know. However, only you know the full gist and therefore it's on you to make the best choice from the options available. This is my general idea on the matter (For a prof who is a fellow naija you may require additional moves like prostrating etc, then again it all depends, ):

I. Your first email
1. Make an initial impression of being concise in writing. Be professional without sounding cold and absolutely no errors in your mail.

2. Show interest in the prof's work (that is his life men!). And show interest in your own work too.

When he replies, he either says (a) not interested or (b) no funding for now.

(a) means good bye, look for another prof, look towards TA, external funding etc

Once you hear, see or read (b), shine your eyes, thats it, move quickly and direct the discussion towards research areas when (WHEN not IF) you join his team.

II. Your second email
3. By now you must have slept with printed copies of his papers. Read his work and have a good idea of what he is doing and planning to do. Ask yourself, where do you fit in all of this? DO NOT COPY AND PASTE ooooooooo hmmmmm. Yarn like the knowledgeable but polite naija supasta that you are. Remember research is not all about the glamour of presenting papers to peers at a conference. Some low level manual blue collar greasy nailbiting caffeine induced work goes on behind the scene. Interest in that part research is what counts at this stage. And you show that interest not with mouth but with action. When you get in you probably would work on things you never dreamed of. But for now it is important you show you are enthusiastic about the tasks ahead.

I know its tempting but leave out jokes until much later. In the initial contact, the stakes are just too high to kid around.

4. If you did (3) well, the guy will willingly send you some current papers.

5. Pick one of them and sleep with it happily with a smile on your face (after all if all goes well, you would be sleeping with lots of known and unknown papers for the next 4-6 years).

III. Your third email
6. Prepare a summary of the paper you just digested. You could include "reasonable" questions and ideas of your own. Arrange evry in pdf like the supasta presenter wey you be and excite that email by clicking send (remaining concise as usual).

IV. His first phone call (from him ooo never initially from you unless he specifically asks you to)
6. By now you guys should be talking on GSM, trust me, in a top school the Prof would do all he can to get you into his team. But remember sometimes there just isnt enough funds for everyone. Hopefully you have other profs/other schools to begin the dance again.

All in all, it's about packaging. You want someone to spend N15m on you. You had better be worth it. You know you are worth it. I know you are worth it. They know you are worth it. They (the top schools) are after prestige and they want you, thats why you were admitted. Believe in your self and raise your confidence level.

Remember this is not a play by play commentary of how things should or would happen. It is not a recipe for getting funded. You have to be able to adapt to your ever changing situation. Its just to help in generating ideas and strategies that might just work for someone. Actually it has already worked for someone but thats not the point. You get my point.


,,,,many roads to the market,,,,
ALTERNATIVELY, you could transfer 20,000USD from your Dad's account into your account, get your I-20, travel, study hard for one or two semesters and land a TA or RA. Much easier if you ask me. But then again I wouldn't really know as popsi never had that kinda dough to even provide 1% to support 99% funding. All fingers are still fingers .

Good luck! Package and seal the deal. Do your best and pray to God. God Bless.

Omo, Stanford is entering a long thing o! I can get TA/RA there until I've done at least a quarter there. Abeg how long is a quarter? Do these schools generally allow people pay fees per quarter?

Errata: Omo, Stanford is entering a long thing o! I can't get TA/RA there until I've done at least a quarter there. Abeg how long is a quarter? Do these schools generally allow people pay fees per quarter?

@ Nknight, thanks bro. I get your point. He even had one of his current grad students call me and we had a nice chat. I guess he doesn't have enough funding because I saw a lot of "pending approval" research proposals which are very interesting. I'm hoping I get some kind of fellowship though. That said, I might start planning to pay for my first year but it would take a miracle to do so. And yes, Penn State was the only US university I applied to. I also applied to a Canadian university and I've been trying to contact some Profs there. I got a response from one of them yesterday informing me that funding wasn't available and that except I have my own funds, I cannot be accepted. I guess the funding scenario at most schools in North America is changing each year. I will try to contact other profs at both schools to see if I can land.some funding. Thanks for the heads-up.

@ cezeozue, your profile must be really stellar to have landed the MIT and Stanford admits. Keep your hopes high. You will definitely get a fully funded program. I'm "tripping" for your MIT admit sha. Numero Uno!

cezeozue:

Errata: Omo, Stanford is entering a long thing o! I can't get TA/RA there until I've done at least a quarter there. Abeg how long is a quarter? Do these schools generally allow people pay fees per quarter?

Superbrain:

@ Nknight, thanks bro. I get your point. He even had one of his current grad students call me and we had a nice chat. I guess he doesn't have enough funding because I saw a lot of "pending approval" research proposals which are very interesting. I'm hoping I get some kind of fellowship though. That said, I might start planning to pay for my first year but it would take a miracle to do so. And yes, Penn State was the only US university I applied to. I also applied to a Canadian university and I've been trying to contact some Profs there. I got a response from one of them yesterday informing me that funding wasn't available and that except I have my own funds, I cannot be accepted. I guess the funding scenario at most schools in North America is changing each year. I will try to contact other profs at both schools to see if I can land.some funding. Thanks for the heads-up.

@ cezeozue, your profile must be really stellar to have landed the MIT and Stanford admits. Keep your hopes high. You will definitely get a fully funded program. I'm "tripping" for your MIT admit sha. Numero Uno!

Funding is a very serious issue all over the globe, but I guess intl students are least/not considered for funding cos once given, it can't be withdrawn(my guess sha) esp. if the student performs abysmally poor in his first year/semester. Even if there is much funding available, Profs. are kindda skeptical, hence they wud like to see an intl student's performance first as well as other compatibility stuffs before they wud allow you access to the research bank.

I wrote one of my top 4 pet engr schs for funding insisting that I'm in for MS/Phd and the graduate coordinator said several of their profs./supervisor like ma profile and def. need me in their research but they wud like to evaluate a student performance in the 1st semester/yr before funding consideration, So I guess, I may ve to shell out about N4m from my pocket for ma 1st yr but my friends (one now in BP after PhD) over there said I wud need this amount for just Embassy sake assuring me that after my 1st semester, i wud def. get funding. So, i am kindda cool n ve started sourcing for N4m.

But I trust that ceze wud get full funding, esp if given PhD acceptance by the ivy schs like MIT. Dont think twice b4 accepting MIT offer when full funding don show. Success Ceze!

@Superbrain, Tot u got Ok State U PhD admit then, how far with the funding runs? I guess u ve forgotten about them? I'd prefer Penn State sha! but hope funding comes! Success.

studentaffairs.stanford.edu/registrar/students/tuition-fees_10-11

for stanford, I think for quaters is about 8k for non tuition expenses, And engineering per credit hr is slightly above 900 dollars and per quater u shld b thinking of 8-10 units of course work,

Whoa, Am also passionate abt this stanford of a school,

@ceze, Offer full ground and i believe funding go dey for that ur kind of profile, Best of luck.

@myforumid

hmmm, Exactly what u're goin for ,is what i intend to go for (Ms/Ph.D in petroleum engr) for fall'12, But ve nt thought penn state out as been one of my choice, but i think i'll do just that, I have 5 schools in my list nw, and don't mind adding another, So i hope u don't mind if i can keep an update with u,

Success!!!

@ myforumid3, yeah bro. I was admitted to Oklahoma State University last year for a PhD program without funding. I tried all I could to get something but I was told funding could only be guaranteed after a semester or two. I weighed my options and decided to wait. OSU is not a top school for engineering and spending over $14,000 didn't seem like a wise decision for such a school. So I let it go and applied to Penn State this year. I actually didn't send in my application till the Nigerian Prof I had been contacting at Penn State instructed me to. Penn State's yearly expense is about $47,000. I'm praying for some sort of miracle as concerns funding as I was told they are currently nominating candidates for fellowships, etc. The school is a top notch, ranked No 1 location for recruiters according to a Wall Street journal. They recently had a career fair with over 300 companies (mostly fortune 500) present. You definitely can't go wrong with it. Moreover, their faculty are involved in extensive research so there's a likelihood you'll get a prof with similar research interests as yours. Still in waiting mode,

@all pls i just got my B.Sc from uniben this and going for june/july batch nysc. i would like to study medicine in the usa though am not that wealthy but i have a uncle in usa. pls can sumbody give me the step or neccessary procedure i need to follow to get admission should i take sat and when should i take what score shud i get to qualify .pls who ever has a good knowledge of what i need should kindly help me. thanks and God bless.

Ozegbe:

@all pls i just got my B.Sc from uniben this and going for june/july batch nysc. i would like to study medicine in the usa though am not that wealthy but i have a uncle in usa. pls can sumbody give me the step or neccessary procedure i need to follow to get admission should i take sat and when should i take what score shud i get to qualify .pls who ever has a good knowledge of what i need should kindly help me. thanks and God bless.

Congrats man. UNIBEN my alma mater. Med school in the US is pretty expensive with little or no funding opportunities. I don't really know much but I believe someone in the house might be able to give you a clearer picture.

Abeg guys, I'm a little unsure of what to do in this situation: I contacted a prof at madison about research openings in his group. He replied that there were openings but no funds. What do I tell him? If I say I'm interested, where will the $50k for fees come from, if I say I'm not interested, it will seem like I was just after the money. What to do, what to do.

leadzeal:

@myforumid

hmmm, Exactly what u're goin for ,is what i intend to go for (Ms/Ph.D in petroleum engr) for fall'12, But ve nt thought penn state out as been one of my choice, but i think i'll do just that, I have 5 schools in my list nw, and don't mind adding another, So i hope u don't mind if i can keep an update with u,

Success!!!

@leadzeal, I didnt put any app for penn state, I choose just top ten pet engr schs, the 3 in texas, OU,Norman and Tulsa.
My desire is to do research with the top pet engr schs cos they ve lots of funding n coy affiliations. Penn state is gud but they are not in top ten for pet engr, perhaps, i cant tell if they still ve oil wells, maybe gas well but not oil wells.
Success with ur app nxt yr.

Cezeozue,I have been foll ur blog on preparing for GRE but at this point, I must confess am very impress not necessary with your profile but with ur achievement being accepted by MIT&Stanford.Hasten d fact that u need to decide on time to pay ur acceptance fee.Pls check up this site www.csgm.org,they are considering outstandg candidate from Africa and its been extended to pple in Engr.I have someone with funding abt 4 yrs ago for his engineering program in US.WIll reference him.You can also get funding(Loan) if u have a US/greencard holder to guarantee u.my email is toplink4all@yahoo.co.uk.Wishing you Goodluck

@Leadzeal
I also intend applying for graduate program (in Petroleum Eng.) by fall 2012.
Perhaps, we could work together towards that. I'm looking forward to seeing your reply.

Ozegbe:

@all pls i just got my B.Sc from uniben this and going for june/july batch nysc. i would like to study medicine in the usa though am not that wealthy but i have a uncle in usa. pls can sumbody give me the step or neccessary procedure i need to follow to get admission should i take sat and when should i take what score shud i get to qualify .pls who ever has a good knowledge of what i need should kindly help me. thanks and God bless.

med school in us is very expensive as pointed out earlier, the competition also very insane. You like close to perfect GPA ohh. You dont need SAT what you need is MCAT and finally you need to complete one academic year in US.

, hmmm my post was removed.

@myforumid

whoa, abt TEN top schools, That's really impressive and ambitious, All the school u listed re in my list, what a coincidence. And abt u applying to penn state, sorry i think i miscontrue ur post. Well, am optimistic all of u guys in this forum ll get in with funding, Well i went thru penn state website yesterday and it seems they re making a claim of an 100 percent guaranted employment, wh is kind of enticing, My limit wud b 7 schools sha. Please do update the house on recent happenings and i ll forward my mail to ur private mail on NL ,i hope NL have such service, Best of luck man ,

@jaxxsmith,
about following each other up, it ll b my pleasure, I ll see how i can IM u on NL, Are uu considering the new or old gre format, I intend to have mine late may or early june, Still contemplating sha, Anyway, let's get ouselves updated.

@Leadzeal
I'm certainly going for the new format by May/Jun before going for service. I'm looking towards intensifying preparations (because I want this to be my one and only shot). However I'm still irresolute about the schools I'd be applying to.
Anyways, you could suggest ways we could get in touch with each other.
I could send you my personal email.

is like NL ve no such service, Here is my mail: leadzeal@yahoo.com

@Leadzeal
Pls, I made a mistake in my earlier post, I intended writing- I'm certainly going for the "old" format by May/Jun before going for service. I'm looking towards intensifying preparations (because I want this to be my one and only shot). However I'm still irresolute about the schools I'd be applying to.
Anyways, you could suggest ways we could get in touch with each other.
I could send you my personal email. Thanks for being prompt.