₦airaland Forum

As long as you are true to your dream, you can always find a way to pursue and achieve it. Most times, it is not money that is the determining factor, but the tenacity, focus, and stubborn faith in yourself and in God that nothing can stop you. Anyway, how old are you?

VisiFisiMisi:
Hello Nairaland Family, I have a huge passion in studying in the U.S but financially I'm not okay and it's driving me crazy, I have make researches day and night if there are opportunities or possibly loan i could get and payback. I'm not lazy i would pay back in time but none gave without a cosigner.

The biggest problem I'm having right now is that, It's only me that have interest in this my parent doesn't seems to care about my passion towards this because they believe they don't have the millions and not ready to support my passion

I'm set to take the SAT I've been studying for the exam for the past 4months now but haven't seen any opportunity to register due to financial incapability...

Pls can anyone generous register me for the SAT...I know I might not have anything to reward the person but the God of Favour will favour the person in returns....
I strongly believe, I'll pass the exam with a great grade and qualify for scholarship...


@Fairheart
@GboyegaD
@Teslim
@lagosismyhome
@Time2win
@Bracelum
@OluDare01
@thewholethreadviewers

I see you have improved this a little. That is commendable!

shoyoyebiodun:
My mock Transcript again please house am open to criticism and corrections

Msc. Computer Science and Quantitative Methods with concentration in mathematical finance

Vo- Good morning pass me your I-20, Sevis payment receipt 

Me- here you go 

Vo- why are you going to the USA

Me- for my master in computer science and quantity Metjods with concentration in mathematical finance at Austin peay state university Tennessee.

Vo- can you tell me about your program

Me- master in computer science and Quantitative method with concentration in mathematical finance is a 2year 33credit hour course program and it focus on key areas like regression analysis,numerical analysis, financial mathematics,stochastic process and probability 

Vo- how did you here about the school

Me- from a colleague who is an alumni and has been doing very fine ever since coming back and I later did further research on the program,fee and the city

Vo- how many school did you apply to 

Me- 3, wku,mtsu,Austin pea state university

Vo- why Austin Pea State University

Me- because Austin pea among the 3 school offered computer science and mathematical finance which will open many career opportunity after graduation aside that the school has a curicullum that does not focus alone on the theoretical aspect but alot of practical course work that would help boost my carrier

Vo- what will you do after this degree

Me- I will be coming back to Nigeria to work with the Nigerian pension commission so that I can harness my creative energy toward solving the problems of delay or non-paymeny of our retiree gratuity and at some point in my career I will like to go into lecturing so that I can teach and motive young people willing to take up a job in pension administration.

Vo- what have you been doing after graduation

Me- I went for my compulsory NYSC from July 2012 thru June 2013 after which I got a job with xyz company as a bulk teller for 4year before I move to my current in 2017 as a ***manager

Vo- why did you choose this course 

Me- I choose this course because it will give me advance knowledge of computer and uses of mathematical process in solving financial problem which will give me competitive edge and will open alot of career opportunities after graduation.

Vo- did you write any standardize test 

Me- Yes GRE

Vo- what's your score 

Me- 304, quantitative reasoning 157, verbal reasoning 147 and critical written 3.0

Vo- how will you fund your study 

Me- I was offered a GA that cover the whole of my tuition and my uncle Mr. **** that work at **** would be taking care of the remaining cost 

Vo-how did you get the GA

Me- I apply with my GRE test score, my undergraduate CGPA, letter of recommendation and I wrote a letter to director of the department that gave me the GA.

Vo- can I have his SOA 

Me- pass it 

Vo- typing and I would be approving your visa 

@LagosismyHome
@gboyegaD
@fairheart

Hi, haven't heard from you again. Please write and update me on the GA and your plan for the interview. Has it been offered?

shoyoyebiodun:
My mock Transcript again please house am open to criticism and corrections

Msc. Computer Science and Quantitative Methods with concentration in mathematical finance

Vo- Good morning pass me your I-20, Sevis payment receipt 

Me- here you go 

Vo- why are you going to the USA

Me- for my master in computer science and quantity Metjods with concentration in mathematical finance at Austin peay state university Tennessee.

Vo- can you tell me about your program

Me- master in computer science and Quantitative method with concentration in mathematical finance is a 2year 33credit hour course program and it focus on key areas like regression analysis,numerical analysis, financial mathematics,stochastic process and probability 

Vo- how did you here about the school

Me- from a colleague who is an alumni and has been doing very fine ever since coming back and I later did further research on the program,fee and the city

Vo- how many school did you apply to 

Me- 3, wku,mtsu,Austin pea state university

Vo- why Austin Pea State University

Me- because Austin pea among the 3 school offered computer science and mathematical finance which will open many career opportunity after graduation aside that the school has a curicullum that does not focus alone on the theoretical aspect but alot of practical course work that would help boost my carrier

Vo- what will you do after this degree

Me- I will be coming back to Nigeria to work with the Nigerian pension commission so that I can harness my creative energy toward solving the problems of delay or non-paymeny of our retiree gratuity and at some point in my career I will like to go into lecturing so that I can teach and motive young people willing to take up a job in pension administration.

Vo- what have you been doing after graduation

Me- I went for my compulsory NYSC from July 2012 thru June 2013 after which I got a job with xyz company as a bulk teller for 4year before I move to my current in 2017 as a ***manager

Vo- why did you choose this course 

Me- I choose this course because it will give me advance knowledge of computer and uses of mathematical process in solving financial problem which will give me competitive edge and will open alot of career opportunities after graduation.

Vo- did you write any standardize test 

Me- Yes GRE

Vo- what's your score 

Me- 304, quantitative reasoning 157, verbal reasoning 147 and critical written 3.0

Vo- how will you fund your study 

Me- I was offered a GA that cover the whole of my tuition and my uncle Mr. **** that work at **** would be taking care of the remaining cost 

Vo-how did you get the GA

Me- I apply with my GRE test score, my undergraduate CGPA, letter of recommendation and I wrote a letter to director of the department that gave me the GA.

Vo- can I have his SOA 

Me- pass it 

Vo- typing and I would be approving your visa 

@LagosismyHome
@gboyegaD
@fairheart

Well, look at your options and see what's best for you. Also, talk to your person in the US that a student visa will not be issued without her statement in your hand as you need to go to the embassy with it. That apart, do try and get a scholarship or financial aid. To be honest with you, your application smells like the type your relative in the US want to use to bring you in. Be sure, the consular will likely reason in this direction during the interview.

I wish you the best!

molosfaith86:
18 yrs

lols. You don talk am finish. They get maad connect!

bracelum:
Leave am make he dey talk. Na him decision to accept or decline - and it doesn't change anything.

Those business schools get maaad connect!

I know about phone numbers. I even get my own! No be mouth! I was just trying to be sure whether or not it's the call or the student got approval after they reapplied as some students gets it, too? Also, consider that they were never interviewed by the same set of consular who denied them.

LagosismyHome:
.. i can confirm to you that Wharton did call the embassy and sorted those visa. This story close to home and i can give you names. There are always networks that happen on the backend . ....

some people get direct phone number to consulate . Its called LEVELS

So, you believe they got the visa after reapplication because Wharton called the US embassy in Nigeria, or because these students reapply and got it (as we have seen many students get their visas after reapplication)?

LagosismyHome:
.. i can confirm to you that Wharton did call the embassy and sorted those visa. This story close to home and i can give you names. There are always networks that happen on the backend . ....

some people get direct phone number to consulate . Its called LEVELS

Who be this? I don hear una. I don move, too. Just tell your school to call embassy for you ahead of your interview. You'll be alright!

CuteRedd:
i can attest to this! Even Lagosismyhome confirmed it so what’s the problem?

Schools doesn't verify bank statement; they are after seeing the balance, and proper documentation on financial affidavit form. Nothing more! 30K is a lot. Please relax and shake up your plans. It appear to me that this is not the best time to apply for this visa (just so you'll not record a denial). And if you don't mind, how old are you? I am just trying to see other options I can recommend.

molosfaith86:
30,000 dollars. She kept saying the school has verified it

Alright sir!

bracelum:
Have a great day!

And please stop making assumptions like that

I am so concern as to how the US embassy now looks at prospective students going to US for education that I need to share this with all of you in the processing or getting admission or waiting for scholarship, GA or financial aid from your school.

Please avoid going to the embassy with an I-20 without some sort of scholarship, GA, or financial aid that slash your total cost. Always make sure your I-20 has scholarship on it. This does not guarantee your student visa, but it increase your chance, and kind of makes the VO believe you're a genuine student (as they know that GA, high scholarships are competitive to get). And one more thing, avoid very expensive schools if you know they will know offer financial support to offset considerable amount of your tuition. In fact, I now tag schools like this a red flag!

The US embassy now frown at it, because when you look at the Nation's economy, they imagine how many Nigerians are well-off enough to spend over $40k a year. And indeed, how many Nigerians are well-off enough to spend such huge amount of money for a year? So, go for school that is affordable over expensive ones. This will also help balance how much your sponsor should have in his/her account.

We should record a lot of approval this Fall.

I am afraid you should cancel the appointment. You should get a scholarship, and then another sponsor. Like GboyegaD said, calm down and take your time, so this can work in your favour. I don't think you are set. That is the reality.

molosfaith86:
Undergraduate, no scholarships

Yinmu! You're not serious.

bracelum:
Great!

You choose to believe what you want to believe. You can't take a horse to a river and force the horse to drink water.

I won't force you to believe but the fact you don't believe it doesn't mean it is not happening.

I see the name, bro. It's just nice to read the way you write it. Omo Yoruba atata!

GboyegaD:
You no see my name? Anyways, I no too sabi Yoruba but I dey over try. Had to learn the hard way at some point.

Find alternative. If she has fear and she doesn't want embassy to look into her finance, then she's telling you she won't stand as your sponsor. Are you going for MS or Undergraduate? How much is to total cost of your program? Any scholarship?

molosfaith86:
Not like am not ready, but she won't agree to send the documents. She's a nurse and she earns a lot. My thought is that shez doing that for security reasons.
But am confused how to explain dis to the embassy

Ah! You certainly wouldn't go further because you do not have experiential fact! You're the first person to tell me school call embassy to issue student visa to bschools student. And I have been laughing! Thanks anyway!

bracelum:
I'm sorry I won't go further about this topic. And yes, I know a lot of students that were supported by the schools to get visas.

A top 15 bschool will never leave you hanging - that is the main summary of this long gist

lol...so, you sabi Yoruba like this?

GboyegaD:
One of the challenges with those abroad. If she knew she cannot release it, then it is not fair to have acted as her sponsor. This is the typical "ma jo lo, mo nwo eyin e i.e. keep dancing, I am entertained" syndrome. Just like a friend used to say during our undergraduates that some people who do not have any intention to help will act as though they want to when they truly don't. Would you advise she goes ahead with the interview?

How many students from Nigeria do you know in bschool in the US? How many are studying with loan, scholarships, or fellowship?

bracelum:
Yes, that is what I'm trying to say. Bschool is very expensive and it is considered as a significant investment in the lives of people that attend it.

When you get admitted to a top bschool, they give you options to fund your degree (they never leave you hanging!). You either get fellowship, scholarships or loans. And almost all the top 15 schools can support you up to 100% of your entire cost of attendance.

However, you have to be ready for bschool before you apply. Being ready means having that perfect background and having that drive to succeed. If you don't have these two qualities, don't bother spending $200K on that degree because you are not ready. That is why I don't advice people without work experience jumping to an MBA. If you don't have that perfect background, an MBA is a waste of time for you.

Good! Good! Do you know any student they pull a call across to the embassy for? Have you personally seen any yourself? And if I may make this a little personal, what are you studying in the US and at which school?

bracelum:
Yes, they do! They make the calls

Again I will like to reiterate that ANY top15 bschool student that do not secure a visa, it will be that the student failed to use resoures or help from the school.

Visa is not a problem for a top 15 bschool student even if their i20 balance is almost $100K

Your assumptions are based on the regular graduate school experience, which is very very very different from the bschool experience.

Sponsor in the US and not willing to release statement of account is a clause you should remove before your interview.

molosfaith86:
Good evening, please I got two text messages and two email messages from the embassy that my Visa interview has been rescheduled to 5th of April but I was meant to be interviewed on 9th April

Secondly my sponsor is in USA and she refused to give me her statement of account reason dat the embassy can check it through the state security service

Please any say in this

When you are droping information here, always try to be concise. Intervened? Did they call the embassy because this school is top 15 bschool?

bracelum:
Yes, I agree with you on that and I'm glad you also said that Wharton intervened for them to get their visas. I also know of someone (I don't know if it is the same person) that had a similar problem and shared it on GMATclub. Wharton also intervened and the person got the visa. For a bschool to intervene and call some shots for someone to get a visa shows how far they can go to sort visa issues for students.

A random graduate school will keep you hanging...

So, we are still saying the same thing - that getting visas isn't a problem for such students. In worse case scenarios, the school intervenes but this happens in very rare cases. If you do a deep study of those scenarios, it might be that they refused to use state their loans on their i20s or probably because they just wanted to do things on their own.

In summary, a student at such schools shouldn't be worried about getting the visas.

I was expecting you to give me something I have never seen before. Take care of yourself.

bracelum:
First, I will appreciate you don't quote me multiple times for one comment I make. It doesn't look professional and it gives me a hard time collecting all the facts to give you an informed response. So, one quote per comment makes a lot of sense. Thanks for understanding!

So, I said you were making bschool assumptions based on the general grad school experience but those experiences and situations are different. That is why I try as much as I can to quench wrong comments here so that we don't end up giving wrong notions.

Yes, top bschools run like a well-oiled machine and they assist their students much more than regular graduate schools do (that is one reason they are more expensive). Of course! all graduate schools give their students assistance through the international office but top bschools give a more personal service through their offices as well. And guess what, a bschool student can use the service offered by BOTH the bshool and the general international office of the university. However, they most times do not need those offered by the general university because they have a better and more personalized service from their bschools + the bschool experience is not offered to nonbschool students.

Are these services effective? Yes they are. I know a couple of Nigerians (about 10 - 12) within the past three years that had some issues with the visa process (not visa denial), but they worked with their offices to sort the issue. I can't go into details of the issues here but trust me, visa is not a problem for those folks because you have to be a geniune student to even get admitted.

Another thing those bschools have is a solid career center independent of the school's career center. These schools organize their own career events, bring tons of companies to recruit their students and offer personalized career services to their students. These students can still enjoy the general service offered by their universities but they often do not because the business school provisions are far better.

In Wharton for instance, newly admitted students are asked to submit a draft of their resumes before they even resume on campus. They are assigned personal career coaches to work on their resumes and get a very sound draft before recruiting commences in the fall. UPenn itself has a great career center but Wharton has an even better career center that offers more personalized services to students. Same applies for the top 15 bschools.

You mentioned assistantships and I treated it earlier but it appears you missed it. Elite bschool students do not seek for assistantships especially in their first year. These folks are the most career-focused 20-29 year olds you can see on the planet. They generally spend their first years doing class work and networking. A lot of them spend ~ $10K in their first year networking their way to Wall Street. So, they generally do not have the time for assistantships. So, assistantships are generally ruled out for those students.

Now, I'm not saying this for you to open an application portal and start applying to a bschool. Before you apply to a bschool, two things must click - first, have the right profile (not for admission but for jobs) and second, have the internal drive. That internal drive does not come from a nairaland conversation. It comes from within and unless those two things click, you might end up wasting $200K on a bschool degree.

Most people that couldn't utilize their bschool experiences lack one or both qualities.

LagosismyHome:
Something are not how it appears to be oooo. I personally have 2 friends, although yes it not recent and was in my time. Wharton MBA both girls were denied visa. Yes Wharton intervene and they were given on second interview and resumed slightly late..... but the fact still remains both girl have seperate interviews for wharton and were denied in Lagos.. .

You have responsibility to educate me, so that I'll no longer see things and talk from assumed perspective. First, give me a list of top 15 MBAs in the US. You don't have to list all of them; just give 5 schools. I am interested in this! And do explain how they help students go through the visa process, so that visas are issued, because you'll be the first to say that since I have been on this thread. To have known they offer visa counselling sessions, you must have gone through the process or seen someone who did.

If you don't know, almost every university in the US offers visa counselling (a sort of ideas on how to tackle the interview (And let me tell you, it hardly works (A young man reach out to me last month, and with all the visa counselling from the school, he was still denied)--except you did not really get in touch with the international students office of your school.

bracelum:
As I said, you are talking based on assumptions.

Top Bschools are very efficiently run. They have structures in place to help students go through the visa process - a lot of them eve offer visa counseling sessions.

As long as you get admitted, your visa is 95% sure!

Dude, I don hear you!

bracelum:
You are talking based on assumptions. Top 15 BSchools are not normal graduate schools - they run like a well-oiled machine.

Once you get admitted, they offer EVERY INTERESTED STUDENT financial assistance through scholarships, fellowships and loans. They don't leave you hanging like graduate schools do. As long as you present an i20 with scholarship, fellowship or loan from a top 15 bschool, your visa is almost sure!

Visa is not an issue for those students at all... Not at all!

I have no idea where you're getting your information from. And I hope you've gotten your visa and now in the US. If not, I would like you to try what you're suggesting here for yourself. If your top 15 MBAs are offered within the Ivy League schools, which the VO themselves feel jealous and shocked when they see a Nigerian student admitted there, then this is cool. If the top 15 MBAs are not from the Ivy League, well, you know it!

bracelum:
An MBA admit from a top 15 US b-school will HARDLY get visa rejection! And yes, a top 15 MBA program costs $70K-$80K per year for tuition.

The biggest problems for such students is to get the admit (Stanford GSB has ~6-8% admission rate) and to have the RIGHT profiles to land the juicy consulting, investment banking and tech jobs. Visa is the least problematic thing for those students.

Without scholarship or GA, I tell you refusal is 100%! You seems to believe in top this, top that! That is not how it works now. By the way, give me a list of top 15 MBA in the US? You should understand that when a VO is making decision (base on recent changes within the last 12 months), the rate of tuition fee is a major factor, especially without a major funding from the school. How many Nigerians can afford $70-80K MBA? lol. Affordability is a key in getting a student visa these days. And that is why student with considerable scholarship or GA have an edge over those without when it comes to getting the visa. He can go to the TOP 15. It is cool, just make sure you tell him how he'll pay the tuition, and whether MBA worth that.

bracelum:
An MBA admit from a top 15 US b-school will HARDLY get visa rejection! And yes, a top 15 MBA program costs $70K-$80K per year for tuition.

You are Mama now! I am still surprised how you remain committed to this thread. That is commendable. And it is good your own experience still feels like it was yesterday. Shows you cherish memories.

LagosismyHome:
time has gone sha. A child born then would be finishing secondary school soon , yet it feels like yesterday

I didn't say it is not good o. It is, but consider the profile of student here. What he studied for his first degree, his age. I have a strong profile on MBA students refusals lately. I am just waiting for him to drop his profile. And you know when you got your visa. A lot have changed since then. I am not trying to scare anyone though. He is fine. He should just package himself very well, and I hope this is not an MBA program that is $40-something thousand plus a year?

LagosismyHome:
but MBA is good na ...............said with my MBA Alumni voice

Any financial document with details of amount available will work, but the US embassy honours statement of account more than any other documents, especially if it is a document they cannot easily access its authenticity and verify on the system.

jumboo:
Hello

I’ll be applying for a US student visa for a MBA and I would be sponsoring myself. Can non-bank statements be used as financial document. For example a statement of stocks (equities) position which I can easily convert to cash or I need to convert to cash before the application.

Did you say you applied for J1 visa? Viewing your post from the lens of experience, your visa was refused because of the appearance of your relative on your application. Also, your responses to question appear to be natural and not the type you actually prepared for. The J1 visa could have been granted. Anyway, you can reapply.

Good luck.

The

Babbie23:
Hey guys, I know this thread is for students and persons wanting admission into American schools but since I'm also a Uni student on a Summer Work and Travel (J1 exchange visitor visa), I'll still post and get some feedback. I was interviewed last month on the 18th in Ghana but I was DENIED. Awaiting my next interview on the 8th.
The questions asked by the consular were:??-
1)Where do you work - I'm a student, 2)where are you going to - I'm going to Minneapolis in Minnesota,
3)what's the company I'll be working for - target field,
4)do you know anyone in the states - yes a relative who is my uncle,
5)where does he stay - ohio,
6)will you go visit him - I dont think so(i repeated twice cuz he seemed not to have heard or maybe was giving me a chance to change... I really don't know),
7)are you married -no I'm not, do you have kids - no,
how long are you staying - 3 months..
9)He also asked what I read in school and I said , I'm pursuing a 4yr bachelor's degree program in IT. He denied me. Where did I go wrong here? Please help me assess this. Is it because of how I answered or the fact that he thinks I lied about not knowing if I'll visit my uncle? I felt my answers were too brief.

If taken down during during the interview (that is, if you have a successful visa interview), it will be verified. Good luck.

li2pac1717:
Hello, please does USA embassy now confirm Bank Statemnet for student visa?