₦airaland Forum

jaybiz007:
Good morning house, I am glad to be here finally, after five years of rigorous drilling in civil engineering. With the grace of God, I was able to graduate with a first class, and currently awaiting nysc mobilization for batch A 2016.
I intend taking GRE exams since I was told it will come in handy for my postgraduate application in U.S varsities. Now, my questions are:
(1) Should I write the exam next month? mind you I just started preparation, using the few materials I got from friends.
(2) Is TOEFL necessary for both American and Canadian universities?
(3) Since I intend studying on scholarship, how can I go about it? (Am sincerely clueless on this)
cc: bigfrancis, justwise and several dons in the house too numerous to mention, please help a brother out.

You are on a very good path to obtaining multiple scholarships /graduate assistantship. Here's what you do. Don't be in a hurry to write the GRE. You might be very sound, especially with ur first class degree. But with inadequate preparation, u might flunk GRE. So don't be in a hurry. Take ur time.(Maybe about 2months)Prepare well, Ace the bloody exam. You Nigerian CGPA should put you on 3.5 or 3.6 /4.0 American scale. While you are preparing for your GRE, look for schools, I would encourage at least 4 schools. You would want these schools with their GRE codes handy on the exam day, so you can send your scores at once to them. Take the TOEFL too.. It is quite an easy exam. So you should book ur appointment for both of them. 2weeks is too much to prepare for TOEFL self. But try that. Most Good American schools and some Canadian ones need TOEFL.. The US Embassy ask for standardized test result too. And it make them see you as serious, if you take both exams. In my case I didnt need to take TOEFL, but I did. Just for the embassy sake. Although I ended up not being asked the standardized test questions though. Bottom line. Don't rush. You have time to prepare for fall admission. You should have written both ur exams by let's say February.
If you went to a federal school. I think a good advice would be to start processing ur Transcript now. Cos those people are evil. Same trend in most federal universities. My 2cents.

OjaP:
Congrats. Are you going to Harvard?

Havard Bawo? You wan pay 50,000 USD in tuition cost alone for me? Even if that kain money dey self, they still won't admit me Jare. Except Havard don get less privilege program. Lol. (nah joke ooh).

biikeys:
Congrats. What area of EE are you planning to specialize in?

Thank you @biikeys, I am a Telecommunications Man, But a close substitute would be Automation (Instrumentation and Control).

Put regular there as Passport Type. Except you are some sort of Diplomat or Refugee.

tunedhey:
Biko.. Someone should help me on dis abeg..

Disclaimer:: If you don't like long Stories, please just scroll down to the Transcript at the bottom .. make una no yab me ooh. patiently read my Testimony sha, if you can. And see the Hand of God in my story. [/b]

First time Ever posting on Nairaland. But i have to share my own Testimony too. I always said in my mind i was going to have my own testimony too and post it here. A Big thank you to you all who made and still making this thread a life saver. I only wish i got to know about this thread earlier. I probably would have gotten Multiple scholarships or GA positions all lined up. God bless you all. But my biggest gratitude goes to my friend and ex class mate @DinjaNinja, who took out small time left for me. ** His White Girlfriend wont just just let him be in his school, and the ashawo boy is enjoying it ** @DinjaNinja Make i catch for dia first. lol.

So i wrote the GRE and TOEFL, scored 301 Verbal and quantitative, AW 4.0 (i been dey take the exams play), TOEFL 95. Applied to 3 schools. Before my mumu Naija University would eventually send my transcripts, It was kinda late for One of them. So the rejection from the school ehn, No be here. ( Mind you, this particular school was my safety net school. I was too sure i was gonna get in). Still I didn't get in. The first admission i got was from the school i thought i wasn't gonna get into . Because it is a Top 50 school in the US. One of the best In Engineering and research. The other school i also got admitted to is also among-st the Best 10 Electrical Electronics Engineering school in the US. ( There is actually nothing God cannot do).

So fast forward, Admission in hand, 1-20 in hand, SEVIS Fee paid. I booked my visa one month Ahead. (just a hunch from my mind, and I obeyed. I saw a free date for the next day too which was 28th October, but I wasn't in a hurry to be denied with my non travelling Virgin passport). Which is why I moved it to over one month. Na so i book my thing for December 1st oh. Na there the torments and weird dreams start. One time I had a dream i went to the embassy and forgot all my documents at home. Another time, I had another one in which I was given, one time I just had a dream, don't even know what the dream was about self, but I just dey dream anyhow.I was just worried. Trust me people, I can stand in front of a hall full of people and teach or lecture. But once u convert it to Interview, I am the worst person on Earth. I have even blown one dream job I almost got way back because of interview ( this is after getting to the last interview stage). so add the fear on interviews to my visa Tension.

In my worry, I reached out to @dinjaninja, he introduced me this thread. That dude can commit murder ooh. Imagine asking me to start from Part 1, if i can. Abeg which Era be those part 1 people self? many of their forms and Gist self different. even their travelling language different. I couldn't go past 10 pages there, Part 2 wasn't any different. I had to give myself sense and move to Part 6. nah so my reading start ooh. the dates were closer and their gist made more sense. But i no finish chapter 6 too. It was part 7, i lived in. i read every page. funny comments and replies. Plenty epistles and stories like my own would be too. but i read on. so the interview pattern started becoming clearer. And a secret was revealed too. Your preparation should be met up with spiritual life too, if you want Gods favor on the interview day.

I read and read, developed my own possible questions and answers. Got some corrected by @dinjaninja, started my Fasting too.. Devil kicked in. 2 days into my fasting, the Women Temptation started. The Sex was pouring in from Left , Right and Center. One time i had to sleep on the same bed with one Hot chic like that. something that has never happened that way in my full life. But i try. I no do ooh.. No be my Power. I guess that's what Fasting can do to your system. It weakens the Flesh. Did some extra intensive Prayers both at home and in church. Gave small offering to God.

Fast forward to a November 30th. I woke up normally, feeling tensed but okay. Did my normal stuffs. went to Church ( i don quit my job last month). came back from church. My left eye started itching me. i scratch am small. ee dey scratch me back come dey red join. i was like what is this? I hurriedly bought Eye drops and Anti Bio-tics. I did everything.. Everyone was asking why my eye was red. I was becoming worried. But i hoped by the next day, it would have gone. I slept normally, woke up by 3 am. With my eyes swollen. I HAD Conjunctives (AKA APOLLO, something i had last in 1996), Hehehehee. Of all days to be having such a virus. by this time, I was distraught and hopeless. Didn't even want to go the damn interview again. But i still went into the toilet, read all the Bible passages i had gathered from this thread. went back to sleep. i set alarm for 4.30am. for some strange reason the bloody alarm too didnt go off. Devil was working his charm on full throttle mehn. Person wen get appointment for 6.30am, was still in bed by 5.30am. I didnt even care again. But my Younger brother ginjered me. so i showered. dressed up, wore one Transparent glass like that. it covered the swell and redness a bit. Shaun my Apollo still dey show joor . we enter car. I had my brother drop me there. we got there at 6.35 am ish. About the same time the 6.30am people were going in.
after the first search and all. on the first queue, they bounced me , they said i didn't have a SEVIS fee receipt, i thought i had the right receipt. (I even had 3 different SEVIS printouts showing payments), somehow that wasn't what they wanted. They gave me a white Paper and asked me to go print and be back in less than 90 minutes. Nah so i go Business center. Alaye tell me 5000 naira to print Payment confirmation. Something I would print with 50 naira or less. worst still , i had a printer at home. Mehn i lost it ooh. I use my Apollo eyes, plus anger stammering dey swear for the guy .. I was so vexed ehn. we come dey argue. Finally I paid 1000 naira to the same guy. We settled before I left sha and he wished me luck.

Went back into the accreditation hall, jumped the queue this time, but I was put in the next batch, 7.30am people. after a while, they lined us in. security check done, Bio-metrics one. Visa Officers queue next.

Nah so i start to listen to interviews ooh, Mr Chinese guy at window one, doing what he knows how to do best. Being strict and refusing people as usual. ( na so una tell me for here ooh). Windows 8 woman was really awesome. she would give you room to recover from your mistakes. I was praying for her window sha. one chick who was being interviewed by her was doing fine small. I was slighly sure , she would be granted, till she was asked "WHAT WOULD YOU DO AFTER THIS DEGREE"? Mehn the girl lost it ooh. infact her reply sank her. Im sure even her wont give herself the visa for such a reply. I noticed windows 7 woman was busy over verifying and refusing people. she was clearing her line very fast mehn with Blue immigration paper explaining why yankee no be for you this time. I didn't want her. I still got her line sha.. (windows 7). She denied 4 straight people before me. my turn reach ooh.

Nah so i say my Prayer to St Micheal the Arch Angel for my mind + Holy spirit take control ( yeah i am a catholic).

TRANSCRIPT.
VO: goodmorning.
Me: Goodmorning ( half smiling ,)
VO: Please we are gonna be verifying just your left finger prints again. ( in my mind, I was like thank God ooh. I was praying to be re- verified again, so I can calm my nerves.)
Me: aiighty ( forming smart happy guy with my apollo eyes ).
VO: So why this school?
Me: I wont lie, I cant really remember the rubbish I said here, I know I said something about research and rank and all those crammed bullshit them. ** she sha cut me short,
VO: what have you been doing since graduation?
Me: graduated in 2012, did my compulsory NYSC where I taught the kids Basic Electricity and Electronics, Further Maths , and Mathematics. Moved on to work with KPMG, But i presently work with ........., as an Electrical Engineer.
At this point I was expecting the job function question.. nah so she change am for me ooh.
VO: So what are the courses you would be taking in your course??
Me: Tension in my head , quickly shout Electrical Electronics Engineering ( I think she ask , what was ur undergraduate Degree. Lol)
VO: NO, i mean what you courses would you be taking in your first year in school?
Me: Oh. I would be taking VLSI Design, Electromechanical systems, Electromagnetic waves, Sensor Networks, that's for my first semester, and for my second semester I would be taking Computer Networks and communication systems, Antennas, by this time i don forget the remaining ooh. i just call my year 3 course for school jare.. Digital systems fundamentals. Which incidentally is a course I would be taking too. just a slightly different title.

VO; Looked me small.

okay Mr ........, Your visa has been approved. (magic words) . My brothers and sisters, I didn't hear the remaining ooh. I don't even know the day she said I should go and collect my visa. I go sha collect am.
Not a single document was asked or hard questions .. The favor of God was just upon me yesterday.
Started making my school preparations already. The passion of the students in my school is amazing.. I am already a part of the team.
Go Crimson.

There is nothing God cannot do if you just believe . Ciao.