₦airaland Forum

Sjvictor21:
I am a final year medical student studying outside Nigeria. I took the GRE in February and got a score of 288. Q- 144, V- 141, AWA- 3.0. Pretty low, I know. I wasn't really prepared for the exam, I took it after 1 month of preparation with magoosh. The problem here is that I don't think I can retake the exam any time soon this year because I have alot of other exams to take such as my final medical school exams, Nigeria's medical liscening exam, Toefl, Ielts and USMLE. The rest of this year is pretty booked for me.

My plan after medical school is to go for my masters in health administration or public health, before I begin my residency in medicine. Please can anyone recommend any school that I can apply to with such GRE score? My total GPA after graduation should be around 4.8/5.0.
And also, with this stats of mine do you think I would be able to get admission?

Thanking you in advance for all your assistance and kind contributions.

You may need to do your own personal research, as regards schools that can take that score, but be patient and try again after Med school.
Besides what's your goal you seem to be writing everything and not concentrating your efforts, you are doing ielts (Canada I guess), USMLE (U.S residency) , naija ( h.j/residency) .
My take, you can re-write your GRE after grad maybe during internship so u don't have divided attention. But you can start your research now on schools funding etc

Kpimp:
congrat.God's work shortest transcrcript have read so far

Maybe because his name is lazywriter...lol

NairaSea23:
U are always here to find help. But u couldn't share your interview transcript for others to learn. Even if someone PM u, u won't respond. Goodluck in your GA quest.

Pls go back and look at my previous comments I posted a succinct detail of my transcript ,click my username and look at my previous post. Also I don't know how to check PM abeg no vex. Just mail me drdamilola.mconsult@gmail.com

Holudarey01:
na assistantship you call like that?
what's the dept saying?
As profs no reply, that would be hard o.
Are you depending on funding or you be OBO? make u no go dey stranded for Yankee o

Baba na GA/RA I dey find naa...no OBO for here oo, dept says contact profs for possible position, sent mails to a few profs say I dey interested in their research and ish, expectant although heard this is their exams period so they busy. How far anytips?

Holudarey01:
baba o.
your head is very valid.
wish you all the best with visa and assistantship

Pls I have been looking to get assistantship at the University of Alabama school of public health, before I travel. Advice is that I should not be direct in my letters to this profs. about it and show genuine interest which I have done,Yet I never get response... Any advice, Boys wan dey panick oooo

biikeys:
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.

Pls can you forward a sample email n resume to this mail themandateglobalhealth@gmail.com thanks"

bartino:
I see a lot of folks asking about fundings. Well from what I know, it's not easy to get fundings from schools these days on your first year. What I will encourage is that you have some money to pay for your first year and begin to pursue fundings for the later part. I got admitted without fundings. I had money for barely a semester with hopes of living with the money I make from on campus jobs and working hard to get good grade which is not easy as it seems. But when I arrived, I took time to critically looked at the professors that have grants and research work on going. I then approached a prof told him that before I left Niger I have said is him I want to work with. I wind the guy wella he said okay can I give you a test. I said yes then he asked me few fundamental questions and I did alright. I just get ginger he said I see you have the zeal to study and learn and plain about your previous education. I didn't even ask him sir I need assistantship. I will fund you and this is what I am working on. Watin d guy dey do no even relate to mechanical na anatomical endovascular research I come say okay sir. He is a prof of mechanical engineering (fluids) and he has funded me from the start and he is still funding me so I ended up not even paying for the first semester. I blend in sharply and easily to the guys research and it was fun. That's my experience. Guys ask questions carefully select schools which is kinda hard and look at the professors. But first have the money for atleast one semester. I hope this helps. Thanks hailings to men.

Thanks bro...funding is critical cos without it most Nigerians won't even consider studying in the U.S. but it seems to me that most people that didn't have enough funds survived one way or the other somehow though it was difficult. This gives a lotta people hope that one way or the other dem go make am in "the ame"

youngmoney416:
So whose statement of account and how much did you show before obtaining your 1-20. I don't know if is a must one must have up-to the school stated amount before 1-20 is issued

I showed about 3 statement of account to my school, including mine to add up to the stated amount before I could get my i20 infact it remained like $50 I still had to show a statement of account for it. So get as much statements as you have to send to your school at most 3/4 sha that sums up ur fees.

isi4luv:
Can someone pls answer dis? Pls!

Hi, the sevis fee last for a year so check the time you paid last if its already a year then you need to make another payment ( now I don't know if it's a calendar year or a year after payment) go to sevis website for more details at fmjfee.com

Do I pay the fee for every Form I-20 or DS-2019 I receive?
No. If you receive acceptance packages from several schools or Exchange Visitor Program Sponsors, please select a school or program and use that Form I-20 or DS-2019 to pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee.

We highly recommend that you pay the SEVIS I-901 fee using the form from the sponsor or school you will attend. Fee payment is made for a specific SEVIS ID number. Each Form I-20 or DS-Form DS-2019 has a SEVIS ID number. All SEVIS ID numbers start with the letter N.
The SEVIS ID on the payment confirmation receipt must always match the SEVIS ID on the student’s most current Form I-20 or DS-2019, unless the F or M student is considered a border commuter student. If the SEVIS ID is different, please email fmjfee.sevis@ice.dhs.gov to confirm if a new I-901 SEVIS Fee payment is required

Fortissimo:
Ok now this guy's transcript would be better than mine. He was grilled and was calm under pressure. Very confident.

Lol, thanks...it was a lotta nairaland training and practice and partly Medschool" ish..

TRANSCRIPT

So I was on window no2 , closest to the exit.
Lagos embassy
F1 visa accepted

I saw about 2 people denied in window 2 , in front of me, V.O wasn't smiling and I think she was pissed at the last person before me cos she asked him;
When did he finish high school he said 2000 and she asked what he's been doing since then but he didn't vocalise so she just gave him the blue tingy.

I was like (in my mind) mehn I don't want this woman oo, they should carry me somewhere else...but the guy that directs said I should step forward..lol

So I stepped forward and d guy that was denied was still stunned standing there so I had to tell him sir pls excuse. The V.O had already started even telling me to pass my docs.( she was kinda looking unfriendly) well this is how the convo went.

Me; Good morning (looks into her eyes)
V.O; Good morning ( looks away trying to scan my passport tingy,tried like 3 times, looking now frustrated)

V.O; (after successfully scanning ask) have you been to the U.S before?
Me; ( according to nairlanders if them ask u one quest anticipate further questions, direct the V.O and answer)
So I said, yes once and I spent 28days which I came back to Nigeria to continue my work

V .O; what did you go for?
Me; Church convention

V.O; what do you plan to study
Me; Masters in public health department of health care organisation and policy

V.O; where?
Me.; the University of Alabama at Birmingham,

V.O; How long? (Asking fast,typing fast and I was answering fast so she was probably happy I wasn't wasting her time)
Me; 2years after which I plan to come back to Nigeria and continue my Non profit, health organisation as the co-founderr ( I had docs and pics to back it up but she didn't ask)

V.O; who is sponsoring you?
Me; my dad ( at this point I anticipated her next question so I said ) he's the Director General of x"x"x an organisation that bla bla bla for other organisations and create blah frame work for blah ( note I didn't abbreviate so she doesnt assume,I learnt not to abbreviate so she doesn't ask me to come again, even MSc I said in full)

V.O; how many schools did you apply to?
Me; I applied to four schools, uni Texas a n m, uni of kentucky,SUNY uni buffalo (anticipated her next ? so cont. n said) I chose this school cos it's the only one offering health care organisation n policy. (She nods and types pweeety fast)

V.O; are you married?
Me; No *scuffs*

V.O; what do you do?
Me; I'm a med.doc' and the founder of a non profit health organisation blah blah blah...

V.O; already hurriedly picking up the white paper encircling stuff and telling me to pick up bla bla...
Me; thank you and left...
Time; about a minute,no docs checked" didnt ask y i chose course nothing, not even how much do you have in your statement.

Points from my experience;
1. grace
2. Travel history ( went for a short period and came back with legit reasons) *not a guarantee though*
3. I dressed well ( I was amazed at what people wore to the interview for F1, these guys don't even spend more than a minute so appearance is first then speech,way before docs) I wore my best suit sha n a expensive watch I placed in front of her make she no go dey think say this one dey suffer for here..*def. Not a guarantee too*
4. I psyched myself to be proud and act proud cos that's how I killed fear..(I saw a girl eyes red before going to her window,she showed fear already, i was confident maybe cos it was not my first time sha)
5. Speak fast and fluently (over heard a convo while on the queue where the oyinbo woman had to stop typing look into the mans eyes and practically repeat herself 3times..they r stressed already by our overwhelming number. don't stress them further)

I know peeps may think my mouth is running now cos i got it, but nooo...far from it. My mouth is running cos i discovered that asides luck, science plays a role in their choices whether to issue or not to issue a visa and some NL's have mastered the science of acing the embassy interviews...and im emphasising that success is when preparation meets grace,....thanks guys
Above all things Grace is the guarantee...
God bless and pls I need someone in university of Alabama at Birmingham or who lives in Alabama to put a brother through oo also someone that can put me through on how to land a GA/student job etc cos I no get bar pass 1st sem..lol..PM me pls..

Fortissimo:
DrOdu congrats. Please share your transcript. Were you interviewed around 11:30? The cubicle closest to the exit?

Yea, I wore a bluish suit,

Okay gimmie a sec would share my transcript.

Hi guys,

Been Following this thread quietly for a while. I got my F1 on Monday thanks to information here.
Visa process (lagos) was pretty easy, no documents asked.spent like less than a minute or so, I was graced but had travel history with a running B1/B2 visa already.

My school of admission is the University of Alabama at Birmingham
Grad Course of study; health care organisation and policy (mph)
Program date on my I20; May 5 2016( orientation day) for summer
Funding; non-yet

I have some few* questions, I beg to be answered;
1. when am i to enter in the u.S before the may 5 written on my I20 or after may 5.
2. If I must enter before may 5 ( which I'm not ready yet for) how can I push it further, do I request for a new I20 to present at the border or what do I do?
3. As regards funding, I can really honestly probably only afford my 1st semester fees at the UAB, and I'm not on any form of GA/RA, scholarship etc. I wanted to get my visa first before a concrete pursuit.How do I go about my search for funding/GA opportunities. How do I survive the 1st semester n beyond?
4. How is money been transferred currently here from Nigeria and at what exchange rate ( black market or normal) cos cant be carrying tuition in hand bag abi?
5. Any NL'der in Birmingham, Alabama that can help me integrate into the society and put a friend through as regards accommodation, and life in Gen. Pls DM me or sumfin.

P/S; Excuse my naievity at this stage when I'm supposed to be packing my bags, but i believe it's better I humble my self now and ask the world questions "before he clear for my eyes for Yankee"

Answers may not be restricted to my questions... Abeg I just need lots of help and clarifications and yabs tootoo ..

worry359:
Some confusion here!
You need to apply to the higher school (university) to get a visa.
Then when you get to Obamaland, transfer to a community college.
But remember C.C. is a lower school and their certificates are worth less in the job market!

why was ur F1 visa declined?

olenime:
How much are we talking about? For. Dhl. Or ups?

N20k for dhl,FedEx,ups...
anyone has stories of missing documents through regular courier?
can I-20 be replaced if missing by a courier service?

profojah2:
Why don't you use courier?.. Its 50-50 if you try to use the regular mail

thank you! but it is costly...

hi guys,
pls i would like to know if its safe to receive my i-20 via regular mailing services and not courier services that charge like dhl,ups. although i heard its not safe since shipment may delay for a month plus.

They are scammers! Naija sha,anything for money

Pls any one from the University of Alabama, graduate school

Pls i need info, I have a booked flight for a very important meeting outside d country for 23rd of may and camp ends 26th may ,I am in lagos "stream one.I can't postpone my travelling, ..what are my options

Pls i need info, I have a booked flight for a very important meeting outside d country for 23rd of march, I am in lagos' stream one.I can't postpone my travelling, I should be back in a few weeks...what are my options
Pls Add me to the group 07016754109