@ zukkie4eva,
Thats the way to go! Morale High my brother.
Please get to know the deadlines for your application. If you are a Fall (or Spring) 2011 applicant, I'd say you almost have got all the time in the World. But if you are considering 2010 then make double sure that you will meet the deadlines.
Most competitive schools rarely have deadlines beyond Feb. of the admission year. The irony is that it is precisely those highly competitive schools that give out the most funding/scholarships to their admits. I guess thats why they are so difficult (relatively speaking) to get into, in the first place.

thats the way to go! Morale High my brother

I think it is my sister.

I think it is my sister.

Yes Godeagle, you are right.

@ zukkie4eva,
I'm sorry for the mistake.

Hey guys! I've been having a hard time trying to post on Nairaland. I post successfully and then it disappears for no reason. I'm even wondering if the posts are actually there and I'm the only one not seeing them. Anyways, it seems to be working today.

zukkie4eva:

i'd settle for MS. Chemical Engrg ( i'd pass Petroleum engrg. . .lol, don't u guys all sound thesame?. . . i mean petroleum engrs. . . lol)

So u mean i can pay online??. . . a friend of mine told me they've stop accepting online payments from Nigeria. It will be a huge relief if i can pay online. . . . i better go subscribe to FCMB pre-funded mastercard then.

How do you mean we all sound the same? As per payment method. Yes, you can pay online. Mastercard may work for initial payment but visacard is preferable. In response to why they had no mastercard in stock, I heard from an ICB customer service staff that mastercard is being phased out. Infact, when I ordered additional scores online, it was stated on ETS's site that only visa and jcb are acceptable.

by the way guys, what do you all think about contacting professors for admission recommendation. I've been researching this options, got some good links on the subject: http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/low-gre-score-college-admission/, http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/contact-professors-for-college-admission-aid/,  http://archaeology.about.com/od/gradschooladvice/qt/forstadt_apply.htm. They basically ask you to indicate interest in the professors' research areas, but my challenge lies in the fact that I'm pursuing an MEng. So I'm not going to be doing independent research. I learnt that lecturers only get to work with MEng students  as their project supervisors. That's why I don't know whether my mail would fly. Moreover, I'm still unsure if this idea of contacting profs is a good Idea for every school. I might just give it a try though. I guess I have nothing to lose.

yeah, i dont knw if i mentioned this in my previous posts, but usually it is a good idea to contact professors especially if you are planning to do a PhD, I dont how helpful it would be for an Meng student though. yeah after thought, not helpful for Meng.

@Nknight, I be female ooo, Thanks 4 pointing day out Sefago, u guys r simply great.
@ Godeagle, I have an account with FCMB that's why I'm opting for their pre-funded mastercard. But in anycase, is it possible to use someone else's card to make payment?, a friend of mine has a Visa card, is it ok if I make payment with it considering it's not my name on the card?

@ SEFAGO, yeah I kinda felt that way too. But then, the advise to contact profs came from a current Petroleum Engineering Masters degree (not sure if it's MSc or MEng) student in Texas A&M. And who knows, I might decide to change to MSc when I get there.

@ zukkie, it's ok. I think you can use a mastercard for registration. But If there's a situation where you can't use it, then you can use your friend's visacard. ETS only needs to know the card details; not whether it's your own or not.

@ SEFAGO, yeah I kinda felt that way too. But then, the advise to contact profs came from a current Petroleum Engineering Masters degree (not sure if it's MSc or MEng) student in Texas A&M. And who knows, I might decide to change to MSc when I get there.

I think if u are planning to do a MSc, apply to do so immediately. I dont know the funding position for Meng programs.

NKnight:

@ Superbrain,
Please what dept is your friend at MIT. Is he doing M.Sc. or Ph.D.? Any idea on the funding scenario there?

He's in Mechanical Engineering doing an M.Sc. Check the department site for the funding opportunities o'er there. I remember it was a scholarship for Africans and funded by MIT/ Total Finaelf. I'll send him a mail to get more details -only three Africans are sponsored yearly (that i remember clearly).

SEFAGO:

I think if u are planning to do a MSc, apply to do so immediately. I dont know the funding position for Meng programs.

Yeah, I know funding is scarce for MEng. But that's what I intend to pursue. My reasons are: 1) The shorter duration 2) I don't feel like I've learnt enough in 9ja to go to US and start doing research. 3) MEng sounds cooler in my ears Lol. . It's possible that I might still change my mind with more information though.

He's in Mechanical Engineering doing an M.Sc. Check the department site for the funding opportunities o'er there. I remember it was a scholarship for Africans and funded by MIT/ Total Finaelf. I'll send him a mail to get more details -only three Africans are sponsored yearly (that i remember clearly).

interesting that i have never heard of it. Is it only for mechanicl- ask ur friend.

Godeagle, thats a bit true, about the research part but I was just wondering about the funding, if you find a funded Meng, that is fine, and great for you.

Thanks man, hopefully I will get one with funding. Though UH already told me that there's no financial assistance in their program.

Hey Guys,

I apologize for intruding. I am not Nigerian, am from India actually but i came upon this forum through google. I am also preparing for the GRE, this is my second attempt, the first one was quite dissapointing (V-380, Q-730). That is why i have to concentrate more on the Verbal for the next attempt (hopefully in the 500's).
In my defense i hardly studied for the Verbal albeit i am studying the Vocab, i am not sure hoew to prepare for the reading comprehension. I know people advise to read alot but from my experience, the subject matter is trite and the allotted time per question is unbelievably short.

I am planning on taking the GRE late novemeber. I was wondering if you guys have any tips?

I am applying for MS in Petroleum Engr. (Fall 2010) like you guys, I have BSc in Chem Eng from U.Tulsa (GPA- 3.05/4) . I really want to go to UT Austin or Texas A&M. Th next best schools for P.E are Tulsa, Stanford, LSU, and USC. I wonder how difficult it is to get into Stanford for a P.E program? Also I just want to make sure but the Deadline for international students for MS in Petroleum in UT is January 1st right? and A&M is March 1st?

Thanks for the links for GRE Bible and GRE Big Book, really appreciate it guys.

have enjoyed every bit of advice from this thread pls keep it up
am applying to Dartmouth and Howard for my MPH pls how do i go about the funding coz that is the main thing
i will also welcome other school where i can get fund for thesame program

Hey Moviebuf87, welcome to the forum We're more than glad to have you. It's a global village, aint it? There are Indians working in my office even as I write. Well, my new theory on the GRE, having taken it two times (scored Q740, V650 in my first attempt, canceled the second) and heard a lot of other people's experience with it, is that the key to scoring real high is to solve the most difficult questions with the smallest amount of time. And for the Verbal section, RCs are clearly the most difficult and carry the most points! So, cramming the barrons wordlist alone can only take one so far. I've seen people memorize the entire wordlist and still score low. My advice will be to get good material on verbal, eg barrons, kaplan and big book, learn the strategies for attacking the sections, especially RC, and master them by constant practice under timed conditions. Yes, the passages are abstruse, but you just have to study them with focus. You may not notice a marked improvement initially, but keep working and the results will come. Someone on this thread (Arshy) raised his verbal score from the 300s to the 400s in less than one month.

I'll also advise that you don't neglect to study for quant, since the schools you want (UT and TAMU), have their average acceptable quant scores in the upper 700s. In any case, you may want to also apply to the other schools you mentioned as the competition is crazy for those two. You didn't mention Colorado school of mines and Oklahoma Univ. They are among the best too. I believe admission in Stanford will be tough , from my research, they have the highest accepted GRE score and are just behind UT as per lowest acceptance rate. Confirm the deadlines from the departments' websites.


All the best!

"answer the most difficult questions within the smallest amount of time"? abeg cld u clarify that bit. . .

Those who score high know how to answer the difficult questions. Of course, they also solve the easier questions, but almost everybody does. So, what separates them from others is the difficult questions they solve and the amount of time spent solving them. If you look for score diagnostics on www.urch.com/forums, you'll notice that those who scored above 700 in verbal, for instance, got almost all the RCs in record time. Even if they fell short in some simple antonyms and analogies, it didn't hurt their scores much. I'm inclined to believe that since ETS places more emphasis on analytical and logical thinking as opposed to ability to store facts in the brain, one is better off when good at solving the complex questions.
Moreover, marking a question without recourse to the time spent is never a true test of ability. If ETS didn't think that time does matter, they wont put it on the diagnostic report. Granted, the GRE pattern is very difficult to predict, but I believe these observations are true.


NB: Diagnostic is a service provided by ETS where one can know what questions he got right/wrong and the time spent on each question.

finidinwa1:

have enjoyed every bit of advice from this thread pls keep it up
am applying to Dartmouth and Howard for my MPH pls how do i go about the funding coz that is the main thing
i will also welcome other school where i can get fund for thesame program

I'm glad you found the thread helpful. What's MPH?

masters in public health

exactly Masters in public health

So did you guys narrow your schools yet? I am having trouble doing so- for various reasons (I have so much stuff to do, I am stressed, lol). Also, I wanted to mention to you guys not to only focus on the US, you could try University of Alberta in Canada especially if you plan to do chemical engineering. The applications are free for people with an address in nigeria, they offer full scholarships immediately after acceptance for Masters, and they are located in the oil area of canada- its just really cold and sucky there- but if you don't mind the weather.

Hey guys, pardon the lull, got carried away with some other things.

finidinwa1:

have enjoyed every bit of advice from this thread pls keep it up
am applying to Dartmouth and Howard for my MPH pls how do i go about the funding coz that is the main thing
i will also welcome other school where i can get fund for thesame program

I don't think I have the answers. Though a doctor friend of mine is doing the course in Houston. I'm not sure of the name of the University. I'll chat him on messenger in case he knows anything about it.

@ SEFAGO,
I'm done with applications and can't wait for their admission decisions. Yeah, Univ. of Alberta is a really good option, but also very competitive.

@ Arshy,
Where are u man? Any admission yet?

I'm done with applications and can't wait for their admission decisions. Yeah, Univ. of Alberta is a really good option, but also very competitive.

Are u serious? i haven't even started yet lol. Still getting recommendations, and would probably send the GRE to various schools this Friday. And I have midterms in school right now so ridiculously busy (exams). Are you applying for fall admissions and why so quick? It is getting late though, so when I have assembled my recommendation letters and other info I would be done. I havent assembled my schools too lol and I have definitely need to contact professors.

@Moviebuf87, and netotse,

I think Godeagle and Sefago has done justice to your questions. Just to add to all that, you need to believe you can do it and increase your resilience. As per the RCs questions, i read a lot of journals when i did mine. I read boring ones, not sport or celebrity journal. I read journals like The Economist, The Conscience, Time Magazine, and the likes. The result might not yield immediately but with time and constant practicing, i believe you will get there.

@Sefago,
nice job for those informations

@Godeagle,
My man, i dey o. I have been too busy with office assignment these days (which involves lot of traveling). Thank God i finished all the application processes in September, i doubt if i would have the time now. All in all, i am good, following the thread every time i have the chance to do so.
As per the admission, the schools are mailing me informing me of the status of the application. I am hoping to get the good news before the end of this month or early Nov (with respect to the time they gave me).
How far with yours, any news?

SEFAGO:

Are u serious? i haven't even started yet lol. Still getting recommendations, and would probably send the GRE to various schools this Friday. And I have midterms in school right now so ridiculously busy (exams). Are you applying for fall admissions and why so quick? It is getting late though, so when I have assembled my recommendation letters and other info I would be done. I havent assembled my schools too lol and I have definitely need to contact professors.

Oh, you didn't know I was applying for spring 2010. I sent all applications just at the deadlines -October 1st. I'm even hoping that I'm not badly behind schedule and that the admissions come this month or early November like arshy said. As for you, you're very well on track as early applications increase chances of financial assistance.

arshy:

@Godeagle,
My man, i dey o. I have been too busy with office assignment these days (which involves lot of traveling). Thank God i finished all the application processes in September, i doubt if i would have the time now. All in all, i am good, following the thread every time i have the chance to do so.
As per the admission, the schools are mailing me informing me of the status of the application. I am hoping to get the good news before the end of this month or early Nov (with respect to the time they gave me).
How far with yours, any news?

No news yet o. The graduate schools have all sent my application packets to the departments for review, but I don't even know when the admission decisions will come.

Oh ok. I nearly freaked out because I am fall 2010 acceptance. I should be done by mid november, and would just focus on school and wait for decisions.

PLS still waiting for your response coz i need this info badly thanks all and goodluck to you all in waiting for you decision