Gbemisolarh:
Hello guys, my name is Gbemisola and I appreciate you guys for all the hardwork you putting into this forum.if I had knew about this forum a long time ago, me and my dad wouldn't have been duped by so called agent (millions of Nairaland) ....After reading and reading several pages on this forum, I have been able to come up with the following questions and I'd appreciate it if you guys can help out by replying Me pls:-

1) I don't have much money to squander on 5-6 4 applications like you guys always do.. So plz I wish you guys can suggest affordable unis that accept online application (upload of documents) without WES conversion requirement

2) Am I to make enquiries from the graudate office of those unis and know their response before I could apply

3) Which Universities wave application fee (just need three to add to those unis amma pay for there application fee

Name:- Gbemisola Adumahsi**
Msc Computer Science
Undergraduate GPA:- 4.0/5
No standardized test ( I don't wanna write GRE and TOEFL plz)

Can I get admitted pls?

Pls am a lady and I ain't as smart as you guys....pls be lenient in abusing me if you want to..... Thanks and God bless you......

If anybody wanna help me privately....i can PM as well or we could talk through mail... Pls help, my dad has given up on me travelling for my masters until I get the Visa and show him myself (that's the essence of my long epistle)

Remove your name. And I share your pain for being swindled. It hurts, I know.

First off, how did you come about the impression that as a lady, you aren't smart?? Graduating with a 4.0 GPA in any Nigerian university is no mean feat. And that you can ace the GRE. I challenge you to take the test (GRE especially), if only to prove to yourself that you're smarter than you realize. Here's why.

1. To prove a point. Yes, now you've got a chip on your shoulder
2. If you're coming to the US to study Computer Science at Master's level, it's assumed that you're coming here to work at Google, Facebook etc. Which explains why the competition is fierce, and opting not to write a test is not a great choice
3. Convince Dad that you'll be doing this yourself, and you'll only need the app fees for 5/6 schools. With the help of some Naija friends of yours. I'm sure you can do that. It's a long way down to getting a visa, and it would be great if Dad is on board.

Bottom line, you need that GRE.

Cheers!

Biggy911:
GURUS:

If my Brother in Saudi Arabia pays the SEVIS Fees for me on the 2nd of July (via Western Union Quick Pay) and my Visa Interview date is July 5th.

will i be able to print my SEVIS receipt before interview date

Please advice me, i don't know how the Western Union Quick pay works...

At worst, allow 48 hours after payment. So, you're fine.

mjksho:


Knowing those guys lasan, you are family. Their rooms were below mine in 2014 in Awo Block 8. I stayed at the Med Floor. PM answered Sir.

Greatest gbogbo!! You guys really hugged White House, no be small.

zan1999:
Pls I want the house to help select schools in the US that have high acceptance rate and funding for PhD in materials science and engineering (biomaterials research area) or PhD in Biomedical Engineering. I have Bsc in Physics and two different masters, one in Physics other in materials science and engineering. I will be writing TOEFL and Gre by September.

You don't need schools with high acceptance rates (whatever that means). You have a good profile, extra brownie points if you published in any of your MSc's. It's a good thing you know your desired research area.

Find good MSE programs strong in your research area. Start with strong programs like those in University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign (UIUC) and Purdue University. Ideally, you're looking for FOUR good schools. Mail their graduate program co-ordinators, and professors you'd like to work with, if admitted. Express your interest, discuss your background, and make see why you think your background has prepared you to contribute meaningfully in their labs. I'm sure there are emerging research fields where your expertise in Physics and MSE will be a goldmine, and would surely boost your profile.

If you can get even ONE of those profs to be overly interested in you, you won't need to worry about acceptance rate or funding.

Most profs won't take you serious though, unless you've taken the GRE, and done well. So, if you send mails and all you hear is crickets, don't waver. Plan to do well on your GRE. The higher, the better.

Cheers!

benugo:
Please, can anyone recommend good schools (5) for PhD in civil and environmental engineering?


In addition to above question, I will like to know if funding will cover relocation and accommodation.
GRE- 315, M.Eng GPA-4.49

Texas Tech University
Oklahoma State University
TAMU, Kingsville
LSU, Baton Rouge
Kansas State University

Full funding, generally, pays your tuition, and then pay you some cash every month. You can do what you want with the money (rent, food). No, they won't pay for your relocation or travel. Expect your first salary at the end of the second month of arrival.

k199192:
That's why I laid my troubles here brother... I need realistic solutions. It's the university of illinois Springfield.. them get craze..

First, you need to come off your high horse. The school no get craze, you're simply not putting yourself in their shoes. Computer Science is the most competitive course to get into right now, for obvious reasons. Your profile is weak, and you should be busy finding ways to compensate for your weakness.

You can't change your GPA, but you should re-take the GRE. 291 on your GRE makes your app look bad. The only conclusion the school can draw is that your undergrad school must be of poor standard, if you could get a 2/1 and then a 291 on the GRE.

ikeepitreal:
plea, someone should answer this question.. if the school I'm applying to says they don't need any kind of secondary school result evaluation or wes. can i just send my result(WAEC) like that?

Yep. If they need anything else, they'll ask.

Fatezee:
Guys please, What is the minimum GRE score for top schools Like MIT, uc Berkeley with full funding

Quant: 170/170. Verbal: 165/170. AWA: 4.5/6. Take the GRE as many times as you need to.

Preface (pages 1 - 3):

Quotes from Zero to One:

- "Every moment in business happens only once. The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. . . . And the next Mark Zuckerberg won't create a social network. If you're copying these guys, you aren't learning from them."

- "Today's 'best practices' lead to dead ends; the best paths are new and untried."

- ". . . this book offers no formula for success. The paradox of teaching entrepreneurship is that such a formula necessarily cannot exist; because every innovation is new and unique, no authority can prescribe in concrete terms how to be innovative."

Even though 24/7 electricity is familiar in developed climes, maintaining constant power supply in Nigeria represents a classic case of going from Zero to One. The nation, simply put, does not know how to do it. I blame you, you blame me, we blame the government. We keep passing the buck around, until we realize that nothing gets done without stable electricity.

Solving Nigeria's power problem will not come by fixing transformers, electric poles, and distribution lines. It will happen by creating a supply network that doesn't depend on most of those.

Constant power will not come from a lone genius or a saintly Nigerian vanishing into a jungle, and emerging with a fresh and strange innovation that changes the face of electricity usage in Nigeria.

Rather, it will happen when we think small. A single person, as you are, cannot solve Nigeria's power problem. Think small. Think one state at a time. Go even smaller.

Large power generating stations have long failed to produce the needed power in Nigeria. Why? From a technical view, the generated energy cannot be stored, flows in only one direction, and reduces in quantity along transmission lines. Which leaves us with the option of generating and distributing power locally.

How do we then produce and distribute the needed power in our localities. Better put, what would it take to power a state like Lagos?

To start with, we need to know how much power the city uses. Obviously, factories and industrial areas would need more power than say a residential estate. If New York with ~ 19.8 million people has an average power demand of 5.5 GW, we can estimate Lagos's to be about 2.5 GW (with 9.1 million residents)¹. The 'normal' ceiling lamp uses about 60 W of energy, so think of the 2.5GW power as 42 million of those light bulbs all shining at once!

On the flip side, however, producing 2.5GW doesn't cost a lot; when you consider that a large coal power plant can produce about 2 GW of electricity. Two of those power plants, or at best 3 to account for losses, can help solve the power quagmire in Lagos.

Except it's not that simple.

If the 3 power plants produce (at the minimum) 4 GW of electricity, the power is useless if they don't get to the desired destination in the needed amounts. With enormous losses incurred during production, transmission and distribution - not to talk of vandalism - it's easy to see why we need "miracles" to tackle this challenge.

If we are to succeed, we are going to need hundreds, or even thousands, of miracles. "This would be depressing but for one crucial fact: humans are distinguished from other species by our ability to work miracles. We call these miracles technology."

You shouldn't even think state-wise. Come to your city. To your street. To your neighborhood. Even to your apartment. Find a way to power your residence without depending on PHCN. And we can worry about building to scale later.

Quotes from Zero to One:

- "Successful people find value in unexpected places, and they do this by thinking about business from first principles instead of formulas."

- "There's no reason why the future should happen only at Stanford, or in college, or in Silicon Valley."

What do you think?

^1. Explain That Stuff - http://www.explainthatstuff.com/renewableenergy.html

lasthero:


Thanks for the response. Pls is it possible to do MSc in chemistry when I have my BSc in chemistry education?

Yes, it is. Because you'd have taken courses in your Chemistry undergrad. Check the grad admission pages of some schools to check their reqs. And their FAQs.

lasthero:
Hello people, I need advice.

I had my BSc (education) in chemistry education I'm 2011 and since then, I have been saving up to study my masters in the USA. I have managed to save 2 million naira. I approached an agent based on a Facebook advert and he said he can help me to get a cheap college with tuition fees of $4000 or less. And he wants the charge me 400k as his service charge.

A whole 400,000?, I got scared and I decided to talk to someone who told me to visit student visa section on nairaland and all my problems will be resolved and I won't need to pay a dime to any agent.

So please I need help/ advice.

Please don't ignore my post...

I need everyone's advice and suggestions.

Thanks

One at a time, don't get overwhelm. To start with, you need to dig deep on what you want to study. If you'd be getting an MSc in Chemistry, there are schools that would fund you for the program. What you've saved should be enough for you to take exams, apply to schools, and travel to the US.

For now, focus on preparing for the GRE. Go here: https://www.nairaland.com/1832477/how-achieve-high-scores-gre

Welcome!

He co-founded PayPal in 1999, and was on the CEO on the team that sold the Internet payment company to eBay for $1.5 billion 3 years later. After PayPal, he went on to build a macro hedge fund that invests in public equity, fixed income and hedging markets. In 2004, he started Palantir Technologies, a Palo Alto software services and consulting company which uses big data to fight terrorism, financial fraud, and cyber crimes. In 2005, he launched, alongside two others, Founders Fund, a venture capital firm with over $3 billion in current aggregate capital. Through Founders Fund, he has invested in startup successes like Facebook, Airbnb, Lyft, Knewton, Spotify, Stripe, SpaceX and ZocDoc. ¹

He also started the Thiel Fellowship (erstwhile known as 20 under 20) to help students under the age of 23 conduct scientific research, create a startup or arouse a social movement. Selected fellows get $100 000 spread over two years, mentorship, connection network and resources, in exchange for dropping out of school to pursue their startup dreams.

Meet Peter Thiel. With a net worth of $2.2 billion and ranking No. 246 on the Forbes 400 in 2016 with a net worth of $2.7 billion, Peter Thiel has built multiple successful startups and then more.

¹ Read more on his Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Thiel

In 2012, Peter taught a course about startups at Stanford. During those classes, he made the case that the future should not "happen only at Stanford, or in college, or in Silicon Valley." He, alongside one of his students, added flesh to the class notes and published a major staples among startup entrepreneurs everywhere. Zero to One.

This thread is about studying what Peter shared in Zero to One, and sharing what we can learn from it.

In the book, Peter makes the case that the next Seun Osewa will not build a Nairaland. The next Linda Ikeji will not build a successful celebrity blog. And the next Ife 3 won't create Jobberman. To learn from them, he points out, we need to find value in unexpected places, by "thinking about business from first principles instead of formulas."

While Peter focuses on the need to create more breakthrough technologies (Intensive Growth) especially for "developed" economies, there are many lessons that could be adapted to "developing" economies like Nigeria, so that existing technologies can be improved to reach more people in a faster, cheaper and better manner (Extensive Growth).

Peter compares the former to growing from Zero to One, and the latter to moving from 1 to N.

I'm learning how to build sustainable technologies, and spread them to more people, at a cheaper, faster and better rate. And this thread is my means of sharing what I'm learning.

Feel free to chime in, as you see fit.

Thanks!

Images: Google Images

PabloTrinity:
Dear all, please I have a challenge, someone in the US paid for my SEVIS fee on Wednesday via mail (money order). I have been tracking it and recently got notification (yesterday) that it has been delivered. I understand Saturday is a non working day for SEVP, however my interview is for Wednesday ( i.e 3 days time). I am a bit scared that the processing of the SEVIS fee might take long and may not be out by Tuesday. As such, I will like to know how long it will take (the money order having been delivered), before I am able to go online to check status and print confirmation. Will it be online on or before Tuesday? Assuming it is not, how flexible is the cancellation and rescheduling process? Can I cancel and still reschedule for this week or will only a longer date be made available to me?

I will appreciate your feedback.

Thank you.

You're safe. So far the fee was delivered. Send an email to fmjfee.sevis@ice.dhs.gov stressing the date of your interview, and how things might pan out.

If you cancel, you'll only get the next available date.

Your call.

bigugo247:
Pls guys kindly help me out with info as regards my case. i grad with 3rd class honours from engineering (2.05/5.00). my uncle based in new york wants to sponsor me for an mba in the states. i will sit for gre exam probably by august. pls gurus in the house, kindly advice me on my possible chances of getting admisision and how to go abt it. pls,thanks

Significant industry work experience would definitely boost your chances. Do very well on your GRE, and don't underestimate the importance of your essays. Read poetsandquants.com frequently for business school application tips.

All the best!

tescoman90:


Happyday!
How you dey?

I'm doing very well. Thanks! How your side??

thankyouJesus:
I am always on my toes working my way up. I appreciate you sir.

Good! Don't relent!!

gensteejay:
Please I need some help in choosing an area of specialization for my master's program (on full scholarship in a foreign university). I am thinking of choosing a field, which is not saturated, where I will be able to make new contributions to knowledge. Specifically, I want to go into a field where I can use the knowledge and expertise that will be acquired from my postgraduate studies to solve problems in this country.

As a graduate of Physics aged 29 years, I am quite good at Mathematics and Physics. During my studentship in UI, I didn't do Chemistry or any course related to Biology. But I am also quite good at these subjects (O level).

Owing to the fact that Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology are my strengths, I am thinking of pursuing my master's degree in any of the following:
*Medical Physics
*Biophysics
*Geophysics
*Particle Physics
*Chemical Engineering.

I plan to seat for TOEFL around July or August, and will register for GRE around November. After writing these exams, I intend to send an application for admission (with scholarship) to schools in US, UK, Canada, etc.

If I wrote the aforementioned exams at those times in this year, would I be able to meet up with the admission procedures for 2018 fall semester, which start by September every year in foreign schools?

When do schools in US, UK, Canada start accepting applications from prospective international students for a new session?

By God's Grace, I plan to do my master's program and PhD studies abroad, practise there for some years and return to Nigeria.

Cc:
happyday

As a master's student, schools don't expect you to "make new contributions to knowledge." In the US, for the most part, you're essentially taking advanced courses in your field, and then completing it with a final project (which you'll work on for two semesters or so). If your goal is to eventually expand the frontiers of knowledge, then apply for a straight PhD.

As a BSc Physics holder, the default program is a PhD Physics program. With that, it becomes easier to get into good schools, and your options after graduating with a Physics PhD abound. It takes a lot of brainpower, sweat and grit to complete a PhD, talk more of a Physics PhD, so if you can get into a 'target' school, employers would be trying to lure you to take job offers.

You can work in investment banking, academia, consulting, or pretty much any field where advanced quant and analytical skills are needed everyday. Oh, and software industries too.

You'll need to find out the dates and deadlines for each school you're applying to. But the rule of thumb is to get all your app documents in 9 months to your enrollment.

jaybiz007:

Damn!!! You're one hell of a writer and equally as crazy as hmm-hmm

Hahahah, thanks boss!!

femi321:
Are we talking about Nigeria here? I don't think my post or your earlier post was referring to Nigeria hence no correlation between my earlier disagreement and your question. I don't even feel you are average infact I think you write well and it takes more than average to put once thoughts together nicely. All I am saying is, I don't agree with that your personal opinion that we are average in everything et al. Prospective students may start having a wrong perception about Education in the US and classroom culture as a whole.

I agree with that part that we should never compare ourselves to a typical american student in the context that, they have nothing at stake, infact most of them don't need the masters/phd. They can drop out anytime they feel like, but we as international students cant try that. Some of them are contented with a B or C which is never the case for a typical African on F1 visa. That is the major reason I never take advice from a American students, what is applicable to them is never applicable to you.

Oh , you hit the point! But I don't think people are worried. It doesn't matter what I say though, people are coming here. Lol. "If you like, let it be raining stone in the US, let me go and see for myself, then I can conclude". Thanks boss!

chinemomah2020:
happyday:

Lughhh.. very sweet write-up, I just dey laugh as i dey ready your story, even i still dey laugh as i dey type. You are a good writer with Great talent.. i enjoy your story..

Thanks! Appreciate it!

OluDare01:
Happyday, I like your piece but I don't think we're inferior.
In my first semester,the only challenge I had was settling in,once I did,I hit the ground running. I had done most of the topics we did in my first semester during my undergrad so I found everything easy but challenging. I think it boils down to the individual, major and how solid his/her undergraduate was. The major challenge I had was operating the instruments and I was taught.
This is where self esteem comes into play too,some folks have low self esteem so they resort to bleaching just to look fair.
I think you need to talk about the American English,I'm still struggling with their words after 10 months,crazy,isn't it?

No it isn't crazy. I don't expect to able to speak like a native speaker even in 3 years. I mean, that's their mother tongue. If all I needed to learn was my coursework, I could have stayed back. Online education rocks!

femi321:
The bolded is not entirely true, We are not average in everything! Saying you cant raise your hand and ask questions in class is even falacy of generalization. Profs here are always willing and ready to answer some of the dumbess questions ever, everything has to do with your self esteem. Infact nothing stops us from contributing in class and answering questions, Profs love it when a student is participatory and these are part of what will help when you need recomendations from them. I have a saudi arabian friend whose acent is hard to understand, he still ask questions every damn time in class and nobody criticises nor kill him for repeating himself countless times, infact they understand the accent differences and keep apologizing for not understanding you at times. We might strugle with the educational style here innitially but once you get used to it, it not a big deal. One big advice I got sometimes was to never feel inferior to an american, Never. Infact Nigeria students are known to be outstanding. In Summary, I strongly disagree with your we are average in everything and not being able to ask questions.

Great point! Pardon me if I don't want to ask questions, but "Profs here are always willing and ready to answer some of the dumbess questions ever". Can you say that about Nigerian profs?

Second, you shouldn't mix feelings and reality. That I feel like I'm average, doesn't mean I am. It's the way I feel. And except you're not getting out of your comfort zone, you'll feel short in many areas. You'll see so many holes you need to fill.

And no, I don't think of myself as outstanding. If I do, why bother come here?

And if an American dude can teach me what I want to learn, I won't hold myself back, so I don't "feel inferior".

Their food isn't essentially great, the weather here isn't that comfy, but they have something here that I can't get anywhere else. It's how the US became the leader of the free world. They keep pushing, they never stop, they never accept anything as the best. They treat every nation as a potential threat (China, Russia), and keep working day and night to be ahead of everybody.

We think they're outstanding, but they lambast their leaders everyday. They keep spending billions on research funding every year. They don't stop at the top. They keep pushing, thinking someone else might take their place. It's how they stay on top.

towbaynah:
I love this. You should consider submitting a piece for an African literary competition. I already imagine how life will be when I get there, hopefully.

Hahhaha, let my PI hear that. Exactly my point! I shared this, so new folks know they are not alone. It's what it is. Plus, people can find solutions and share what they learnt. I wish I had answers!!

tolutweety:


lol @ the bolded. Especially when you are very hungry...I just tell them,please just give the last you mentioned.

Hahaha, abi na. I'm sure you'd have made their day . . . so funny.

gaviria:


Please continue. And you've not said number 3 and 4.

This is No. 3. The last one dey hard me to write.

234ng44uk:


That is the plight of every Nigerian student abroad. No one could write it better than happyday just did. I'm sure you had a perfect writing score in GRE. Following this guy.

Lol. You need to see my first draft.

Joyflexxy:
Good day,pls I just sent u a Pm

I replied.

Another big issue here is loneliness.

Finally, you're here. Holywood and your 'yankee' friends have made you believe these people are as outgoing and friendly as Nigerians. Turns out you're in for a shock. People smile at you, engage in small talk, but that's it. Everyone has got their cross to bear. You can't blame them.

You miss the happy atmosphere in Nigeria. You stay on calls to your family and babe(s) and boo(s) back home. Depends on how bad you are. You can't go knock on your neighbor's door, so you both can play PES. Or talk about the latest wack Davido track!

It's raining, and your American friends don't get it when you say 'weather for two', or 'based on logistics'. You see a sea of white heads, and wonder why your skin color is different. You wonder why you weren't born here. You engage someone in a convo, tell them you're from Nigeria, and they ask 'so tell me, how's Africa like?'. Damn!

You've always thought you were good looking, even handsome sef. But everyday, you see way hotter, cleaner chicks and dudes. You were always celebrated in your Nigerian University for your grades, work ethic, romantic pick-up lines or sexy legs. But here, nobody gives a flying hmm-hmm. You can't raise your hands, and ask questions the way your American peers are doing. Like you'll do in Naija, and feel like a don. You don't want to misyarn, look dumb. Or both. So, you keep shut.

You're average in everything. Every damn thing.

You graduated top of your class back in Naija, but here you're, struggling to keep up with term papers and homework. Worst part is, some of your classmates are not even putting in the effort. In fact, most of them. Suddenly, the phrase 'American citizen' suddenly makes sense to you. You now know there are as much types of visa as the letters in the English alphabet, and that your F1 is just at the low rung of the ladder.

You don't get some benefits. You might never do. Just for one simple reason. You were never born here!! Classes, and TV, and employers keep reminding you of this every day.

And then you remember Naija; home sweet home. You remember what your friends hail you for. Guys hitting on you, girls stealing glances at you, your book-smartness, your looks. And even your family. You just wanna go back home.

But hold on! Your peeps are back home are "happy for you", you don't use crap data, you're 24/7 on the Internet, NEPA (or whatever) don't show their prowess every 5 mins. Heck, you don't even know who supplies the electricity around here. Maybe straight from Washington or it's local. And frankly, you don't care.

The air here seems to smell different.

Though you can't cuddle or make out in the cold weather, at least you have a safe bed you can sleep in. The sirens remind you of your relative safety. Then, you wonder if it's possible for you to have both worlds? Be with your family, and also get a grad degree in a sane climate like you have here.

When shit gets this real, and they will, what do you do? Go online and watch more porn, come to Nairaland, and troll the pages?

What would you do

LagosismyHome:


Meal plan made me and my 3 other Naija friends add weight ...... We used to behave like people just let out from the jungle.
Since it more like buffet style , we used to say "make we chop our money complete ".....So plus the one we can eat and the one we cant eat we be on the tray with an attempt to eat it all (value for money)

o Boy !!!.......After a semester , once you see the waist line increase or you see the scale ,nobody will tell you to calm down .

That thing makes so much sense. I mean, you pay like $15, enter, and you can eat pretty much anything you want!!! Are you kidding me! I went there last semester. It was in the afternoon, and the lady said something like that. I was like, 'wait, you know what?'; let me go home today, and come back tomorrow for a full day!

That full day never come!

OluDare01:
Lmaoooo at bold.
I told someone I seldomly 'eat out', she was like what do you mean Naija English

Lol . . .That word been hurting people's pocket since the '60's!!

omilaomila:
Food! Food! Food! Very important. Do not do "big boy no dey carry egusi and crayfish travel". Eventually, hunger will beat "big boy" and he will start to look for African / Hispanic store & even Walmart okra will be like magic to him. We have seen it happen. Take as much as you can carry.

As in, let me join. Food, food, food!!! Best advice. If you want to eat out, be prepared for too much questions. You can't just order a cup of coffee in peace, be ready to say if it's iced or cold, what size you want, if you need cream or sugar. Order for a steak, and they wanna know if you want it well done, medium or rare. You get a simple sandwich, and they're asking the type of dressing, or what type of cheese.

I give up! Just give me the last one you mentioned, and let me eat in peace.

LagosismyHome:


Also most people spend the first few months calculating everything back to naira .... while that is good to keep your budget in check

You ended up feeling sad when you buy things because it might not be so expensive in dollars but in naira it will look so so expensive . You wont even be able to eat something in peace or buy some things freely . Gradually with time or when you start earning in dollars then the urge to convert goes away

Haha, I'm sure it will pass. Especially if you're 'eating out', when your salad is 12 95! Ordinary leaves from the backyard!