₦airaland Forum

OlowoB:
The form A normally takes time o....but it will be sorted out for you, so no need to worry.

Cheers.

What annoys me is that some of these bank workers don't know their job. Mailed the guy severally but he wouldn't reply my mails. Atleast for me to just know d status or situation of things.

OlowoB:
Lol you are funny o, almost everyone in UK will be holding the pounds close to them. It will take a miracle for you to get the kind of offer you are looking for (anything is possible though). Even if you get cheaper, the difference may just be about 5 naira (I pray you get though cos it will make life easier for you)

As for me, I can't even give anyone pounds for now, cos as at today transfer boss rate is 491 naira to a pound.

I will be coming yo Naija in August and I am even thinking of bypassing these transfer guys here in uk and directly change my pounds to naira when I get down at Muritala so as to get a higher exchange rate

Hahahahahaah...see sense...lololzzz..na una wey dey there go gain cos changing with these blackmarketers here will give you more yield. Why not sell some to me....winkzzz.. Meehhnnn its really difficult these days ooo.. uptil now my Form A hasn't been processed. The CBN still hasn't allocated forex for this month. Probably they are trying to finalize modalities on the flexible forex market.

OlowoB:
according to the poster @thababe she claimed it was possible to actually use Form A to pay for private accommodation provided you have an account officer that is understanding. She suggested the idea due to the increasing forex so as to save cost for students.

The advantages are (1) You can pay using form A for about 6 months provided your bank is wiling to help out (thababe did it according to her) (2) Official CBN rate (3) since you are paying for private accommodation, you are not really bound to any contract like school accommodation

The downside (i) You need some one you really trust in UK to check the room for you (2) It is a dangerous means cos you could be swindled.


I have always suggested for students to make sure they see rooms physically before paying (except school accommodation) any cash for private rooms (means they have to get to Uk first before paying), but because of this fluctuating forex, students should try and look for the best way to minimise cost. Hence, they can try out thababe's option.

Yeah that's so right. I will make a few consultations to see if its gonna be possible. But basically,is it possible for someone in the UK who still operates a Naira account, give out some pounds in exchange for some Naira at a cheaper rate outside the blackmarket rate?

mevisbleek:
I had Sir. It's done now. I'm so sorry.

That was so fast,man. Boys dey vex oooo

mevisbleek:
Who need dollar?

Like how much do u have?

justwise:
Who banned him?

I can't tell. He told me about it this morning. Please can u use ur power to do smtn?

Fortissimo:
I think the issue is that CBN either isn't releasing enough forex to the banks and/or the demand is just to high.

Well I had to check up forex allocation for the month of June and couldn't find any. I was opportuned to see allocation for other months upto May. Atleast to d best of mmy knowledge, d CBN releases forex on a weekly basic. So far nothing has been released for the month of June and this is not unconnected to the new policy which the CBN has adopted.

obynwanyioma:
Thanks dear for responding,which bank did u use?

Well I used Union. U can make use of any bank..First Bank,Zenith,Diamond.GTB as long as you have an account with them and the money is right in the account.

gunther6:
Sadly it is FBN

The bank that receives somuch forex after Zenith bank

Angelapinkytoes:
you right,I bank with first bank. At first I thought it was a lie,that maybe my guy at the bank was trying to swindle me,then I called customer care and my worst fears were confirmed. What's your bank sir?

So whats the alternative at the moment?

Just realized mekurexx was banned. oga justwise,what happened naaa? kaiiii...the ban is toomuch these days naa.. justwise please do something, i knw you have the power to.

Guys, information reaching my desk says:
*Standard Chartered stopped International ATM withdrawals from 01.06.16*
*GTB has reduced daily withdrawal limit to $200*
How we go do na?

DareFadi:
This President Buhari change just be as e get ......... To change tuition and maintenance money through black market rate is not funny ooo . Na wa .
Black market like 350 per dollar and 500 per pound is some cases , who knows how the rate go be by July/ August .
To stay for naija don dey so expensive , to travel equally expensive so which way

My brother, confusion do enter my body. Why this period? Anyhow,we go survive. That one sure things.

rydow:
My brother, it's advice able you don't waste your precious time with the Banks, them no go do am! That's the bitter truth, I even heard they supply the abokis the black market and make huge money from it.

When I wanna leave, I went to all banks and there procedures and everyday change of policies clearly show that they are far away from CBN $1 to 199 or whatever for PTA.

An inside source told me clearly that if I truely need dollar, aboki is my best option. Meet those Aboki and get a STAMPED dollar. Or better still don't change in $100 change in $20. Small dollars no get fraud. And moreover if u are a first timer, it would save you with Nigerian immigrations and PTA wahala. When they see Huge $20, dem go free you sharp sharp.

My Humble Opinion. Thanks.

***Aboooki=Northernal ,

Meeehhnn dis tip make brain but these abokis go still dey sell am on the high side.. u no reason am so?

gunther6:
I am going to Access Bank for PTA today... If they start talking trashnese I'm heading to Standard Chartered, I'm tired of FBN and GTB wahala.... Changing with Abóki is dangerous, they mix counterfeit dollars with genuine ones... I'm really tired. Pls anyone with a better idea should pls speak out

Wow!! Please try and keep us posted. Right now information is key, else we go enter one chance.

Angelapinkytoes:
its crazy the way the economy of Nigeria is dwindling. I called my bank yesterday wanting to make an online western union transfer to a friend in Phoenix and was told western union rate is 348naira to one dollar as at 197naira to a dollar a month ago. Smh

Its way to expensive. Stanbic and Standard chartered are way lower.

obynwanyioma:
Hi all, pls has anyone used form A for paying sch fees abroad of recent...

Yeah i used it last week but i am still expecting it to be processed. As at last week, they stated that the CBN had not sent forex to banks. If u want to use Form A, u need to act fast before it is stopped.

gunther6:
Guy na like this we go dey look this PTA/Form A thing, they jack up rates we pay... The next thing CBN is not releasing FOREX blah blah blah... I don tire sef
.. CC fizzile

My brother its really crazy. Am getting confused by the day. Trying to figure how best to go about this whole thing. Uptil now they haven't processed my tuition. They simply said CBN hasnt sent forex to banks. Well i believe that will be sorted out. But as for this issue of maintenance fee which one will need, abeg how best person go tackle this thing? Whats the other alternative?

OlowoB:
at the bolded will be very useful for students coming to UK this September. Students coming over should try and talk to your account officer, try and talk to as many banks as possible. Lastly, anything is possible for anyone who tries.

cc: fizzle and others coming over.

Please boss can u explain better, i kinda don't understand the bolded area. What does she mean invariably? Thanks.

Fortissimo:
Guy this PTA thing is a serious challenge. GTB said its on hold.

Omor make we pray oooo. cos things dobe change oooo. Even the form A, its been difficult. My bank just informed me that CBN has not allocated forex for this month.

Hey guys, how y'all doing? Please for those who paid their tuition using the Form A, please how long did it take for it to be processed, account debitted and confirmation gotten from your school.

DareFadi:
Nobody stopping him from following his dreams... it more like an advice from someone who has lived in both countries. I schooled in d US but work in Uk now so yes i know nobody destiny is tied to any country . Its just a warning before he spends his money.

Today Fizzile might not understand because you are eager to travel but trust me in a year time you look back and see d uk masters for one year added no value . [b]They kick you out [/b]barely in time to make d graduation ceremony.
Best of luck

With reference to the bold statements, who told u uk masters for one year adds no value? How abt people who have spent decades in US and still haven't added any single value to themselves? And who told you people havent succeeded even after going to the US? And who also told you the US won't one day adopt policies like that of UK thereby asking International students to leave immediately after their studies? And is it that someone cant have an opportunity of continuing his or her studies in the US even after getting a UK education? And the last time i checked, many have posted their transcripts here and stated to the VO that they had Masters degree in the UK. My dear, people have difference plans for themselves. If others went to the UK and failed, thats not my plan. There are loads and loads of people who have been to the US and have also failed woefully. Success is not built on schooling in the US. Afterall people have succeeded in life and are doing well from schooling in Finland, New zealand, canada, and a couple of other countries.
Abeg make my matter no come bring issue. I made far reaching consultations before i took my decision and a couple of guys here know the angle am coming from and why i had to tk that decision.
Yeah u schooled in the US and your now working in the UK, how come u didnt remain in the US... why leave US to work in the UK where to you its not the best.
Spending money? The fact that UK Masters is one year while that of US is two years are two different things. How much do u spend in US ur tuition, accomodation, maintenance for Two years. Calculate and tell me.. Then calculate that of UK for 1yr and tell me. People have their plans. Another person can possibly come here and lambast US education and ask u why u didnt go to Canada.
Make adequate use of the opportunity u have not minding where u school abeg.

OjaP:
Forget modules in America bro. If you had a good GPA and GRE scores, they will accept you. In America, you can have your under grad in business and go for a graduate degree in geology. You only have to take some undergrad classes to make up for it. If the schools you applied to wanted a 2.5, that means your GPA was way below that for them not to accept you. I want to believe you presented your "unevaluated" transcript like that to the schools. If these schools evaluated the transcripts themselves, I can bet it with you, your final GPA would probably be around 1.3 or 1.5 and no school would accept that. More reason why I told you earlier to evaluate your transcript before applying to any schools at all.

But since you want me to agree with you and bless you; Fizzile, bless you.

Sent u a pm,so it could be clearer.

BigBenoski:
I thank God almighty for my visa approval today. I'm also grateful to all posters on here for their contributions, and to rhemmie91 who took out time to always respond to my emails.

Appointment time: 9.00am
Time of arrival : 8:58 am
visa approval: 11......something (checking my watch was my least concern at that point)

Interview transcript
Me: Hi goodmorning (hands him my passport)
VO: Hi goodmorning, how are you?
Me: good
VO:Please hand me your 1-20 and sevis receipt
Me: hands him the requested documents
VO: tell me about your plans
me: I'm going to bla d bla university to study for a PhD in biology. I will be working on bat ecology.
VO: looks at me as if he's expecting me to continue
Me:Returns the look with my mouth shut
VO: biotechnology you say?
Me: nope! Bat ecology
VO: ok are there many bats in nigeria?
me: yeah. At the last IUCN count, abt 80+ but from our recent research, we've been able to discover about 10 new records. so we are currently updating the list.
VO: What genus are bats under?
Me: (hesitates) Did you mean order? because there are lots of genus under bats. (Gave him a basic lecture on binomial nomenclature). You understand?
vo: uhmmm yeah, I just wanted you to correct me
Me: Oh okay
VO: is there a name people studying bats are called?
Me: Nah! we just call ourselves bat biologist
VOgives me lecture about the right time to enter the US)

PS: sometimes applicants run into problems when they talk too much. I think its better to just keep your answers short, drive the discussion by subtly introducing a catchy word that would steer the interview to the path you feel comfortable talking about. In my case, I could have just stopped at 'I'm going to bla d bla university to study for a PhD in biology' but that'll blow the interview wide open. He could then ask you anything under the sun. To forestall that, I gently introduced him to bats (which I love talking about) and he took the bait.

When you talk too much, you unknowingly dish out too many "catchy" words, and may God help you if he/she chooses the one you are not comfortable talking about. A good example was this guy before me. Dude was reeling out words, and mentioned that he was going to the US to learn some innovative technologies in medical science. VO jumped at that part and asked him what kind of innovative technology. Dude was thrown off-balance. He stuttered and said 'autoclave'. that was when I knew he'd be denied. VO said, 'but autoclave has been around for decades'.... the rest is history.

Final shot: don't forget to pray before you go for your interview. All the best to everyone to to the white house soon.

Nice one. Congrats.

MsNas:
I wish I could tell you you're right, but sadly.... you're wrong. So wrong. All your transcripts will be looked at from undergraduate to masters when you're applying to a PhD program in the US. The only exception is if you're going the undergrad-PhD route straight. This is first hand experience and not hearsay. Like the other poster said, they might grant you an exception based on your US masters but will be hard with foreign credentials.

You applied to the wrong schools bro. I know countless of schools that will accept you with your credentials, you were looking at the wrong places.

just sent u a pm

OjaP:
There is a difference. It is easier to continue your studies after MS if your school is a PhD granting institution. You would have already build a relationship with your professors and that will help you a lot during the application process. Even if you don't meet the requirements, they can over look your BS GPA and "patch" you in.

And I am not saying that you would be inadmissible, I am only saying that getting a UK degree doesn't mean that your undergrad would be overlooked. I am not sure any school would ask for only your masters result without looking at your undergrad. As a matter of fact, it is usually the other way round. BS-PhD without masters.

You applied to the wrong schools bro. All the schools you applied to clearly spelled it out that they need a 3.0, the least was 2.8. You shouldn't have applied to those schools in the first place and you would have saved yourself the money you "spent". The key is to look for a school that accepts your GPA and apply to them.

Good luck.

yeah I had a low gpa, and I went as far as doing a pgd and had a gud gpa,whc was actually 3.87. The issue I also faced was I applied for msc in environmental science and since I did a pgd in geography and environmental science,they assessed the course module and realized it was more of geography. That's where most Universities in Nigeria get somethings wrong with respect to their modules. So its not like they wouldn't hv taken me. Just that a few factors contributed. I applied to schools dat accept 2.5 but same issues came up. The psychological effect was just unbearable my brother. Talking about BS-PhD,I still disagree with you. Have actually a couple of schools that accept Msc-PhD,even a UK Msc. If it gets to that level, I wouldn't mind tendering both my BSc,PGD and MSc. But for the Msc in d US,its crystal clear what the outcomes are. A couple of guys here have also agreed with the circumstances and advised on alternatives.
Oya Bless me!! U know say u b baba. Bless me just like bigfrancis and Mekurexx did. Waiting.

OjaP:
Okay, but just so you know; if you plan a PhD in the U.S after your UK masters, your undergrad GPA would also be looked at too.

Good luck.

Well,if its so,what's the difference? Been spending money on app fee,sending documents here and there and still got denied.. Funny enof it seems dey don't recognize pgd. So what's the need spending money. I don't think your totally right. Most schools in the US accept ur masters degree for a PhD program. Not necessarily tendering ur undergraduate result.

OjaP:
Fizzile--

I'm not saying you should stop your UK application but I still think you didn't do your HW well. All you need to do is go to msinus.com (don't go to grad café, those folks profiles are intimidating). Look for schools that accept a GPA of 2.0 and 2.5, and you will be fine.

Well i think those who know about my case will understand. I did virtually everything possible but like i said, anyone who knows about my ish will sure know that was the only option.

aadeyi:
Q1. To be able to access the funds in your account, open a dorm acct and sign up for online banking, that way u can easily transfer money from your normal acct to your dorm acct or money can be paid directly into your dorm acct by anyone.

Q2. A domiciliary acct is an acct that is denominated with a foreign currency. A Nigerian dorm acct can be denominated either by $, £, or €. So in your case as regards UK, u will need a £ dorm acct. The dorm acct allows unlimited withdrawal from anywhere in d world. There might be charges though, depends on your bank.

As a student your funds from home can be made into this acct and the rate will be the CBN rate. Also you can transfer into this acct from an international bank acct and vise versa.

Hope this helps.

Wow.. This is great. Good i asked this. Am relieved. Thanks alot. Do you use one please?

lionlee216:
Hello,

People have been talking about dorm account. I will like to know the best bank to open a dorm account with.

Secondly, If I have a dorm account in USD and I paid in money from USA, will i be able to collect my USD from my dorm account anytime i visit Nigeria or the bank willl just convert the USD to NGN for me and pay me the naira equivalent?

Trying to consider whats d best for me before leaving naija

June Visa interview applicant

Thanks

This question is important. Please kindly view the post i put up regarding dorm account. Thanks. Its above ur post.

In as much as i changed plans and opted to go to the UK since my Undergraduate GPA didnt favour me, i still love everything about this thread, cos one day,after my Masters in the UK i will still come here and testify of visa approval to the US.
Please guys, i still need some info from you guys. I believe it will be of help to others too. Will appreciate answers to the following:
1. Please now that most banks have started withdrawing the use of debit cards for International transactions, whats the alternative if one travels out and how best can one access his or her maintenance fee? How then can one have access to the money in his or her Naija bank account?
2. Please i might be a novice but it won't be a bad idea if i asked this. Please can someone please explain what domiciliary account is. Whats the use of it to a student travelling to the UK for studies. I will admit that i don't know what it is.
Thanks.

Please guys, i still need some info from you guys. I believe it will be of help to others too. Will appreciate answers to the following:
1. Please now that most banks have started withdrawing the use of debit cards for International transactions, whats the alternative if one travels out and how best can one access his or her maintenance fee? How then can one have access to the money in his or her Naija bank account?
2. Please i might be a novice but it won't be a bad idea if i asked this. Please can someone please explain what domiciliary account is. Whats the use of it to a student travelling to the UK for studies. I will admit that i don't know what it is.
Thanks.