₦airaland Forum

Yep, Wallstreet is the best option financially for a math or physics PhD. The pay-scales are eyepopping.

Main thing though is to avoid just being a quant (i.e., programmer.) Most of the money seems to be in trading. Though from what I've learned recently, the boundary between these two specializations (at least, at certain companies) seems to be thinning.

Getting a faculty position in physics in this country (at even sh1tty universities) is hard as hell. You must really love the subject (or be insane) to be pursuing grad school in it.

PhD, then postdoc for some awful # of years (multiple postdocs, realistically), and even then might not be able to get a job. Too much wahala.

fstranger1:
You see we all got along on this thread

Igbo Kwenu!

Yoruba Kwezuonu

Southern Nigeria Kwenu Kwezuonu

Nigerians get along great outside of Nigeria. And even in Nigeria sef, they get along very well. It is only on the internets (and places like Jos   ) that we are at each other's throats.

[quote author=EzeUche_ link=topic=593966.msg7631958#msg7631958 date=1296366943]Let me find out that you are a Maryland alumni.  

I might have to change my attitude towards you. And yes, Maryland is very friendly to us Nigerians. Even though I sometimes wish I was in Texas due to the weather, I have always been comfortable in Maryland.[/quote]Not a Maryland alum, I just grew up nearby. And I go to your gym every time I'm in PG. Equipment there is phenomenal imo. I dunno why there is never anyone hooping though  

Maryland is the best place in the world to be Nigerian, Nigeria included, imo  

You'd like Houston. Especially if you are looking for an Igbo wife  

[quote author=Ileke-IdI link=topic=593966.msg7631900#msg7631900 date=1296365525]I was just surprised. I was expecting you all to be in your 40s like moi. lol[/quote]40s, indeed  

[quote author=EzeUche_ link=topic=593966.msg7631905#msg7631905 date=1296365738]And I am a proud Terp! Thank you very much.[/quote]Heh. I have fonder feelings for the University of Maryland than almost any other school in the world. If Nigeria doesn't work out for me, I'll probably end up settling in Maryland longterm.

I got love for the Terps!  

PhysicsMHD:
Lol, don't worry about it. There were 4 people in my high school AP physics class with 1580, 1570, 1580, and 1560, and I was kind of pissed at being 5th. (we were comparing scores like the obnoxious smartasses we were) I almost wanted to retake it just to see if I couldn't get a 1600 but I came back to my senses after a while.

Then after I entered college I found out that the R & B singer Ryan Leslie got a 1600 and I was angry as hell again (and slightly impressed, kudos to him). Kind of shows how test scores aren't everything. Plenty of people who couldn't get such a score will go on to do more significant things than that guy.

SAT scores don't mean anything after admissions though, research, firsts, entrepreneurship, etc. during and after are what matter. A test is just a test.

It isn't something I still worry over. . . since then I've done things that have mostly compensated for those mistakes I made in the past, I think.

And I didn't really have the benefit of parents/relatives who knew the system well. So in that context, I think I did decently well.

Most importantly, as I've grown older I've become a bit more comfortable with myself. Less of a chip of my shoulder, etc.

[quote author=Ileke-IdI link=topic=593966.msg7631886#msg7631886 date=1296365151]Interesting! Are you in grad school? Mind if I ask which one?[/quote]Yeah, I'm in grad school. I'd prefer not to say which one it is, though it isn't very hard to guess.

[quote author=Ileke-IdI link=topic=593966.msg7631873#msg7631873 date=1296364715]

Jeez, how old are you people? Or was that an error?[/quote]And aren't you 44? So why are you questioning people's ages?

PhysicsMHD:
Hehehe


1530.

I was consistently at the 1550+ mark in the summer prep class my HS had that summer. But as sometimes is my nature (and big failing in life), I got overconfident, stopped reviewing, and did poorly.

In retrospect I should have just retaken it. My life would have been better off if I had. But I just assumed that the 1450 would be enough to get me into the schools I wanted to go to, with money

Definitely if I had a time machine, I'd would do things a bit differently.

[quote author=Ileke-IdI link=topic=593966.msg7631873#msg7631873 date=1296364715]

Jeez, how old are you people? Or was that an error?[/quote]I'm 25, babe. I'd just turned 16 when I took the SAT. Started college a bit earlier than most.

Beaf:
If Northern opposition to the President continues, the country should simply be broken up, he declared, pulling no punches at key members of the North who have continued to raise anti-Jonathan sentiments.

Lol. Part of me. . . 

Anyway, interesting that he comes out so forcefully for GEJ.

Anyway, nobody is claiming that Nigerians in the UK are all morons, the UK is full of morons, etc. It just appears that from what Sefago and others have revealed, it appears easier to get into some name-brand schools in the UK than the perceived equivalent in the US. That is all.

Katsumoto:
Why are you making assumptions? Why don't let you let him tell you how long he stayed in the UK and in what capacity. Its like someone doing a 5 week program at a university and referring to himself as an alumnus.

Haba. My "assumption" is something based on what he himself has alluded to not more than three pages ago. Your assumption was something you pulled out of thin air, assuming that his position is because he got jilted by top US schools.

Which assumption is more reasonable?

The Mutallab thing still pisses me off. I know where my 22 year old sister got into and got rejected from with her 1360 SAT score, and I know where I got into, got rejected/waitlisted/didn't get enough scholarship money from with my 1450.

Back in 2001 when I was applying for college, I simply didn't have enough information  

Bleh.

Katsumoto:
But there are equally those with the same or even lower status than him from all over the world who got into a top university in the US. Yes he is ridiculing schools in Britain because he didn't get into the top US schools and he is not in a position to judge the educational systems in two countries just because he claims to be in Science Academia and undertook research in some UK schools. Is it only science that people study in universities? I ask again, what qualifies him to state so authoritatively?

If he has been there and gotten exposure to both systems, I think he is qualified to do so. Your assumption that he is mocking them because he didn't attend a top US school is a bit of an ad hominem attack.

I feel pretty well-qualified to compare US universities and high schools, despite having only gone to two of the former and one of the latter.

I suspect that one or two years in the UK is enough to get a sense of things there too.

Which areas of academics are the UK universities actually elite at? Like, without a doubt in anyone's mind, some university in the UK is top 10 or 20 at area X?

Also, University of Chicago is private, not public.

PhysicsMHD raises a good point. A lot of the US's dominance in education, science, etc is due to being fortunate enough to poach the best scientists in the world as a result of WW2.

However, I suspect that even without this it'd still be pretty damn good, just due to economic might.

Katsumoto:
I guess you miss my point. Tell me why Sefago should be in a position to look down on students who get into British universities?

Err, your premise is that he is ridiculing these schools in Britain because he didn't go to the best American schools, right?

If that is your premise, then considering the circumstances (non-citizen, non-PR, yes still going to a top 25 school possibly on scholarship) I'm not sure how much value the premise has.

SEFAGO:
Word on that. Personally I think world rankings are flawed because they focus on anglophone countries. The Germans the French are doing great work but everyone is focussed on anglophone countries. The only non-anglophone school that is known is ETH and EPFL and these schools publish papers in English. German schools, Berlin, Heidelberg, LMU Munich do amazing work and these guys are smart as hell. But no one ranks them well. The Dutch TU Delft and Leiden are also amazing and their anglophone equivalents are no better in research.

I guess it depends on the area. ETH and EPFL are highly respected in my own area, more so than any of the British universities. But I'm sure that for something like economics, LSE might be better (this is pure speculation on my part, I'm not an economist.)

Regarding language, I think pretty much everyone publishes in English these days, so cannot really use that as an excuse.

Hungary is a pretty underrated country as far as mathematics go. I really wanted to do a semester abroad there, but unfortunately never had the time.

@Katsumoto: If Sefago got into Georgetown as an international student, then likely he'd have gotten into a top 10 school as an American citizen/permanent resident. Georgetown is ranked 25 or so.

And if it turns out that he got some sort of scholarship to go to Georgetown? Then he'd have gotten a top 5 school as an American citizen/PR, imo.

SEFAGO:
I think you are having the same problem as most brits in understanding differences in system. Because these kids dont do well in the SAT does not mean that they are not smart. Most are as capable as their American peers. My claim has always been though that there are better students in the US by virtue of the population. Oxbridge takes the top 1% of the UK, the top 1-2% in the US are spread over the top 15-17 Universities and top 10 LACs with some schools having a lot of the best, while Berkeley and Michigan getting a large chunk of the top brains too. UK schools have large student bodies relative to american ones so not everyone is elite academically. This has been my experience.

Err, hrm. I'm not saying doing poorly on the SAT means you are dumb. But otoh, the SAT is essentially an IQ test. Under the assumption that your typical American is roughly as bright as your typical Brit and assuming a similar fraction of slots are available at the top schools, there shouldn't be that much difference in mean SAT scores. Like, the 99th percentile guy (Oxbridge in the UK, I guess top 10 schools in the US) in both countries should get roughly the same results on the SAT (assuming similar preparedness, etc.)

Now, if you told me that Britain doesn't care about SATs at all, and nobody prepares for it, etc, then that is a different matter. This is why I was sort of puzzled. If it turns out that the mean SAT score at Cambridge is like 1350/1600, while that at Harvard is like 1550/1600, then either one school is way better than the other, or in one school the applicants absolutely do not give a sh1t about their performance on the exam.

Sorta see my point? Anyway, I suspect that the answer is that they simply don't put as much emphasis on this exam in the UK, so people take it less seriously than they do here.

Not that hard to practise. It would be hard to get into a med school in the UK. They have quotas. One of my family friend, pretty smart could not get into med school at UCL because of the quota system. Your sister would not be accepted in the UK anyways since the high school education in the US is supposedly not up to standard according to the brits. (_{I beg to differ after seeing some second year engineers who cannot differentiate to save their lives})

Tell her to consider St Andrews in scotland though they love americans.

Bleh, no point going to St Andrews. She wants a top international name. If she cannot get into Oxford or Cambridge to study a 4 or 6 year medicine program, I'd rather that she just stay here and do 8 years. Or one of these 6 year programs at lower-ranked schools (e.g., the one at Howard.)

I'm a bit surprised about that HS standard thing. Hers is one of the top 50 in the US. I highly doubt too many in the UK are getting an education as good as she is.

@fstranger1 and @SEFAGO: So for my sis who wants to be a doctor, it looks like they have some undergraduate medical programs there in the UK that take 4-6 years.

How easy is it to study medicine in the UK and then practice in the US?

To me, if this were possible, it would seem like the best of all possible worlds. You spend only 6 years in school (rather than 8 ) AND get a top name. There are 6 year combined undergrad/medicine programs in the US, but they usually aren't the best name-brand schools.

Na wa o.

This UK sounds very interesting. Living on past reputation, indeed.

Regarding graduate research, in the three or four areas I know about decently well, UK universities aren't making much of an impact. The leaders are all American universities, both in volume and quality. There are some Canadians, French and Germans who are doing pretty well too. But UK, nothing.

Something doesn't quite add up for me, though. If you can get into the best schools in the UK with average standardized testing results, where do the kids who do well on these exams go to? Do they study in the US?

SEFAGO:
I know two kids who got a 2100 and are at Oxford now. Do you think a 2100 is a stunning score?

fstranger1:
Anyway, good to know that UK colleges admission requirements arent as strict as US colleges'

PS: So I could have gone to oxford for undergrad if i had done A -levels. Oh mehn, I wish i knew.

No joke, I'm f**king pissed. I went to a top 20 school, but it doesn't have as good a name as Cambridge or Oxford.

Oh well, my little sister who is 16 wants to go to Harvard or Stanford. I'll make sure she applies to the British schools too in case her first choices don't work out.

SEFAGO:
TBH they are not the same. I know kids in my area who at Oxford but would not get the SAT score to make tufts. Its kind of a different system. Its based more on knowing your subject as opposed to having pure intelligence.

So let's compare the average Oxford student versus the average student at American University X. Which university is most comparable?

And same question for Cambridge, UCL, LSE, etc.

I don't know much about the British education system and was under the assumption that Oxford and Cambridge are roughly comparable to say Harvard and Stanford (the two American universities I respect the most, personally.)

Perhaps I was too generous to the Brits in assuming this.

SEFAGO:
You have resorted to clutching straws. So Mutallab went to UCL after getting a 1250/1600 in his SAT but the best you could do was Bristol.

How on earth is it possible to get into UCL with an SAT score of 1250. Is it not supposed to be one of the better British universities?

Is there a list of average SAT scores for these British universities? I guess that would allow us to compare them to the American ones more easily.

@Sagamite: No, it is pretty much impossible to get into Harvard with that low an SAT score. State schools of course, and probably a 30-40 ranked US university. Top 10 school though you need 1400+ minimum. At least, this is my rough guesstimate. Might need lower score if black/hispanic/woman, or some sort of athlete.

[quote="tensor777"]And how exactly do you know this?
However it would be extremely naive and foolish for any faggott activist who goes around the society preaching abominable anti family doctrine not to expect extremely violent retribution from conservatively minded elements in that same society.[/quote]

Tensor dude, I thought you'd be above casual bigotry like this  

How did a thread about Yoruba and Jos become about Biafra. Smh. . .

[quote author=EzeUche_ link=topic=595060.msg7630909#msg7630909 date=1296346298]Tell that to a Muslim Hausa who is screaming "Allahu Akbar" as they chase after you in the streets[/quote]So if Muslim Hausa kill Muslim Yoruba, is that also religious?

As I said, it is an ethnic struggle, not a religious one.

You are playing into their hands if you want this to be made out into a religious conflict. . . open your eyes a little bit.

This isn't religious. It is ethnic.

No clue why this thread is even going on. Your average IT professional is in no way, shape or form comparable intelligence/talent/salary-wise to your average doctor.

That should be a big hint.

Abagworo:
All these things sound extremely barbaric to me.It is either we accept that all parts of Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians or we go for outright war after which the victor takes everything.With all these aborigine-settler dichotomy,there can never be peace.Most of those properties and lands owned by Hausas were bought and developed by them hence the land is legitimately there's until a refund is made.I neither believe in extreme Christianity or Islam.They are foreign to us and should be abolished in Africa.
The thinking of an average Olodo Nigerian is that the aborigines own all landed properties and hence should dictate how the buyers from another ethnic group should live.

It isn't really a religious matter. It is primarily an ethnic one. And yes, while individual properties can be owned by individuals of any ethnicity, the municipality or state itself is "owned" not by all Nigerians, but by the indigenous ethnic group. Nigeria is simply not for all Nigerians. That is just the reality on the ground. . . nobody wants their homeland turned into communal property.

I don't think an indigenous American has ever been the US President.Going by our barbaric thinking,all US presidents must have been Red Indians.

I would argue that what occurred in the US was far more barbaric than what is going on here. The reason no Indians have ever been president is because they were the victims of genocide. Wiped out and numerically ovewhelmed by European settlers. Today, I doubt if they are even 1% of the population.

I do not think the Berom desire a similar fate for themselves, or any ethnic group in Nigeria does.

However, given that one group of settlers (Hausa) has an army backing them and is using this to wipe out both the indigenes and southern settler groups, perhaps this is the destiny of the Berom.

asha 80:
if i may ask what is stopping yoruba from secceding now?

Seceding in a hasty and foolish manner is liable to get a lot of your people killed. It isn't like deciding on a whim you want salmon for dinner; sort of requires a lot of planning. Assuming you want to succeed, that is.

Anyway, back to Jos. . .

Very interesting writeup.

In case anyone thinks I am being merely anti-Fulani, I must, at the risk of being repetitive, ask such a person to spend a useful month in Shendam, Plateau State.I am still amazed at how a stranger on another person’s land can refer to the king, like the Hausa/Fulani of Shendam do, as “the king of infidels.’’

The late ruler of Jos, Da Victor Pam, once observed that the Yoruba and Igbo settlers of Jos were as old as the Hausa/Fulani on the land, but that these groups had never harassed the owners of the land; in short, that they had never claimed land.

Is there any way to justify the above two quotes? How are the Hausa and Fulani in Jos not entirely to blame for the problems there? Why were they given a district, and the Yoruba and Igbo not?

The problems in Jos will not stop until the United Nations or African Union is invited there.