₦airaland Forum

ProfTPE:
Nope, no relative in Texas. Thanks

.

Okay then. You should be good.

ProfTPE:
Hi all. I've got a question.

I've read from previous threads that it's not good when you tell the VO you applied to more than one school in a state. I didn't know about this until recently. I applied to three schools in Texas though I don't have any relative in the US let alone Texas. It happens that good Petroleum Engineering programs are clustered in Texas mainly because of the Permian Basin and co. I'll appreciate your advice on the best course of action. I doubt the VO will give me the opportunity to explain the rationale behind my picks.

Yes they will...that's even if they ask you. I asked the same exact question years ago..as long as you have very good reasons which I think you do, you'd be good. By the way, you have family in Texas?

justolowo:
please i know someone who got a teaching assistantship and 80% tuition scholarship at binghamton university in newyork. he has his interview nextweek. Please what is his chances of him obtaining a visa...Please advice

Even 100% scholarship doesn't guarantee you a visa..the question is is he (or are you) ready for the interview?

malory84:
Hello house. I just received an offer of admission from UTA. Pls, how do I go about contacting professors for GA? abeg gurus in the house, I need your advice. Also,is anyone in UTA or going this fall?

What major?

kaykad:
yes i did, it all came up with ridiculous packages, Thanks

Well craigslist might be your best bet...but try to stay with a student.

kaykad:
Dear NairaLand Members,

Am sorry to use this medium to solicit for assistance, but am really in need of it. Am currently studying in ACCT college in Virginia and I need accommodation preferable Virginia as its close to school or its surrounding i.e. Maryland, please note am ready to pay as its not easing getting a place without lease history of your own. Thanks

Did you search online for apartments in your zip? how many apartments have you tried?

pepe4reps:
how geniue is this info?

Use at your peril

Fortissimo:
There's a site I check for this. It doesn't show worker's day for US. http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/

There's Labor day though which is bit similar

bigfrancis21:
Yea I confirmed that he doesn't need the 3 hour drug and alcohol for Virginia in the ending part of my post if you read it till the end.

Reading and practicing the manual isn't the same as actually driving on the road. The manual is helpful and it's there to help you scale through the online test. However, the driving test itself is a little bit of a different reality. The state of MD, being very close to the seat of government, is quite strict in their laws and hence I strongly recommend being thorough in going about it. Maybe in other states things are not so strict as MD. He doesn't really have to go to a driving school but I strongly recommend it or I also mentioned he could have someone who already drives in the US teach him too. Having a driving school brush you up is preferred because of the changing driving test rules and these schools are often up to date with the latest DMV driving test methods whereas an individual who took his test 7 years ago may not be familiar with the latest driving test rules. And by going to a driving school, I did not mean as a new driver which would require weeks of training but a basic brush up of his driving skills lasting no more than 2 hours. Most driving schools do this.

Some dealers will allow you get liability. Or some people may get full coverage just to be able to get the car only to call the insurance company later to change the package or switch insurance company altogether for the liability insurance. The importance of having full insurance coverage is quite high, especially for a new driver to the US.

Have you heard about forced insurance? You make a change to your comprehensive coverage during the period of financing that reduces your coverage and your insurance company lets the dealership know...then they add the cost (usually more expensive) to your monthly payments.

I had liability coverage for about 2 years, and have had comprehensive coverage for more than 2 years...choosing between the two is usually easy. You're trying to save money as a student and you get liability on a used car...you go get a new car, you get comprehensive. Once your car is paid off, you decide what you want.

amanze15:
how expensive is it to get a shared apartment in that area, planning to move to chantily, VA for a field program?

That's generally an expensive area to live. Look for places west toward Vienna, and you can get relatively cheaper apartments. You'll be looking at anything from $1200 and up for a 2-bed($600 each bed) aside utilities. Better still, look for students of say George Mason looking for people to share apartment with.

amanze15:
Hello everyone,
I might be making a trip to the east coast in couples of days please if you live at least within 25 miles radius of Washington dulles international airport, dulles Virginia, Abeg pm me abeg. Thank you

What do you need?

bigfrancis21:
you would first take the 3 hour drug and alcohol class, take the test and pass it.

About 50% pass and 50% fail the test at first attempt. After you pass the online skills test, the final step would be scheduling your drivers road test appointment. Right there at the MVA you would schedule a date for the actual road test. There's also walk-in for the road test if you don't wanna book a date but getting tested on any given day you go to the MVA is not assured due long queues of other walk-in candidates.

Any which way, before your drivers road test, be sure to go to a driving school near you to have them brush you up on your driving skills.



Safe driving in the US. Don't drink and drive! Watch out for those crazy drivers and make sure you get your car insurance with full coverage, not liability only, for a new driver to the US especially for your first 6 months of driving here.

You don't need a drug/alcohol certificate to get a License in Virginia
You don't need to go to a driving school.Just download the driver's handbook from DMV's website, read and practice with someone who already drives here..you can also get practice tests online. The exams are easy
Dealers will typically not allow you get just liability if you're not making full payment when you pick up your car.

HOTWATER:
My dear . I am running my show. Even though no founding , but am doing my thing. Gat lots of outside help shaaa

good

dramaka:
Though their English ain't flawless...mehn, those guys are extremely helpful. They inundate one another with so much info. Just like when discussing how to ace their US student VISA interviews, they keep reeling out info on what to say, and what not to. They would even paste screenshots of interview appointment dates that are available for different locations from the US consulate website, from Hyderabad to Chennai. It's funny...all international students around the world face the same worry and anxiety when it comes to getting student VISA approvals. I mean, I thought they'd have it easier.

Do you know the ratio of Nigerians/Africans to Indians that come to the US on F-1 every year? that'd explain

HOTWATER:
Hi Guys, Anybody coming to UTA and needs help with transport from DFW airport to school should reach out to me. I will not go to Denton, is a bit far for my schedule

How's UTA treating you?

Guitarlife:
Ofcourse the main attraction is my love for research.

And I do not have the financial capability to study in a country like the US without funding so the reason am pursuing funding.

Thanks

Good..because if the motivation is money or jobs, you'll probably pull out after a while just to complete MS.

Check out Missouri S&T too..they have a very good power systems program

Guitarlife:
Thanks for your time and detailed analysis.
I do have a B.Tech 3.78/ 5.0 and M.Eng 4.01/5.0 both in Electrical Engineering.
Am also planning on taking the Gre and toefl.
I do hope things will work out regarding the funding cos thats what am hinging my hopes on.
Many thanks.

Like I ask people that decide to go for it, what's your motivation for a Doctorate in EE? funding? jobs?

OTUNBACODED:
thanks for the reply but how could one go about it? my department doesn't have funding for now

Typically, this is better done one-on-one with a Professor doing something bit related to a research area in your field. It happens a lot between CS and EE since they have few things in common. Do your research and find someone, make sure you know virtually everything they are working on (research), show a really good motivation to want to work with that Professor based on their research work. Then send them an email to them to fix an appointment, attach your resume and you can do a brief cover of yourself in the email..nothing long. Meet with them and be sure to really show you're motivated to work with them...if possible, print out some stuffs that they've worked on. Pray and hope for the best.

OTUNBACODED:
is I possible for a student to get funding from another department?

Very possible

Fortissimo:
Thanks a lot, i'll do that. Wanted to sign a lease from here and hope I get matched up with reasonable room mates but that's risky. I'll reach out to some people already in the school / state to see if they can help.

I'll also reach out to the African student association there.

Yup..very risky. Whichever apartment you decide on, check on rent.com or apartmentguide if they are listed there. If they are, mention that before signing the lease. They'll give you $100 or $200 bonus.

Fortissimo:
How did you guys sort out accommodation before arriving in the US.

My advice is always to search for apartments, have a shortlist and get possible move-in dates...get here and stay in a motel or some place else affordable and safe for a few nights, check out those apartments and move in!
Meanwhile, some schools have free temporary accommodation provisions for international students..so you might want to contact your school international office for students organizations that might be into that.

purplesummer:
Hi guys,

I got this $5,000 housing scholarship towards an on-campus apartment. It brings down my rent from $11k to $6k for the year.

Shoould I accept it? Is it better than staying off campus? Meanwhile, the campus is in Baltimore. Do you guys think it's a good deal compared to an off campus housing rent in Baltimore?

Thank you.

You'll certainly get something cheaper in Baltimore...if you can do your research. Use rent.com,apartmentsearch.com and you get some bonus money if you mention you found them through these sites. If you don't have a car, you'll need to consider distance to your school.

sharlorhm:
Yes, afta 2years. Den will use 2years in university too. An advisor at Howard advised me so

Way to go!

texazzpete:
Ntel is set to launch today, and I've been intrigued by their promises of ultra fast mobile broadband.

I've just seen the first publicly available speedtest from the network, run by one of the network testers.

Hint: It's FAST!

https://i.imgur.com/6Xd7wSc.jpg

If this can be sustained (should be possible, they promise a max of 230mbps) this should be great for subscribers.


Now all they need is affordable internet packages

Was this done when the network/cell was loaded? If not, smh....and yes speedtest should show the name of their server.

sharlorhm:
How well do you know about Cybersecurity? Thats what l will be going for at Howard Community College buh l don't have much idea about computers or science courses

Do you plan to later transfer to a university?

sharlorhm:
Laurel sir

Okay. That's not too far away. What information do you need?

haffikem:
its for an internship position.

i contacted the hiring managers that interviewed me and they confirmed recommending me to HR for my offer.

i just wanted to be sure, and hear views of people that have similar experience as companies differ in hiring process.

a friend of mine in Texas got an offer at the spot with Thermofisher.

Well..good for you. While you wait for their call/email, keep applying to other companies too. You might get a better offer somewhere else. It saves most of those companies time and cost to interview and hire people at those events..plus there are typically lots of good candidates there too.

haffikem:
hello,

anyone got a internship offer or interview in the just concluded NSBE at Boston ?

1. what are your advice on the best followup method ?

2. what are the possible things HR will ask when the interviewer says '' you"ll hear from HR soon'' ?

Thanks

1. Most people get offers right there at the convention-If you got one, just stay put...they'll contact you.
2. Was this after getting an offer? If not, it could still go both ways-for some companies, that's their way of saying thank you but we won't be hiring you. For others, it means they'll discuss your profile with HR and then HR will probably follow up with some behavioral questions..and then you might get an offer.
Another question will be, did you get your interviewer's contact information/card/email?

Tods:
Does anyone have an idea of how much renting a student apartment in Texas would cost on the average. For 1 bedroom? 2 bedroom? And 3 bedroom. Is anyone currently staying in an apartment in Texas or knows someone in one. Plus is it compulsory I have a social security number before I can get an apartment as an international student.

You'd have to be specific about where exactly you're going to in Texas. You don't need SSN to get an apartment as a student.

dannybrown19:
I am doing an undergraduate program, so I just want to know if I can be doing the CPT until I graduate from the undergraduate program?

Like I said earlier, talk to someone in your UG advising office..

dannybrown19:
Thank you, but can I be doing the CPT until I graduate?

That will depend on your school. Typically, you can even transition from CPT to OPT. Talk to your graduate advisor.

dicapino:
You guys are making me scared of going to the US. But on the other hand, you guys have to look at it from the perspective of an individual whose got nothing going for him/her here in Nigeria.

I don't want to seem maudlin, but I graduated in 2012 good result, finished service 2014. I got this job- an Indian job where I get a meager pay which I can't use to start anything. Okay now with the plummetting Nigerian economy I lost my job early this month.

I applied for jobs...good jobs...chevron and Co ....even smaller coys...no luck.....dragnet; workforce and the likes.

I know nothing is free dere. I was told no free lunch in Yankee yu pay for everything. But someone can't sit down here looking at the ceiling. Nothing is here presently. I am hoping education would open my way to a better life in the US.

Go ahead with your plans..my advice