Pchax's Posts
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 Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 2:28am On Feb 23, 2015 |
Please Oga Siga and all other bosses, in your opinion, what is the cheapest service to use to call Nigeria? I currently use international call cards and it costs like $10 for 140 minutes. I feel that there are better deals out there. I can even see some on google but do not know which one to trust with my credit card details. Thanks for your anticipated feedback. |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 1:39am On Feb 23, 2015 |
1 Like 1 Share |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 1:36am On Feb 23, 2015*. Modified: 5:07am On Feb 23, 2015 |
kciano:Firstly, congrats on your admission. I do not know much about #2 but I believe it depends on the person and how much the said fees is and even the program and also scholarships. When it comes to money matters, a lot of variables are involved. Not to dampen your Spirits, I would advice you do your calculations very well. Minimum wage is around $10 or $11/hr here (not really sure). You have 20 hours to work when enrolled. Even if you collect pay under the table, multiply your min wage by tops 50 hours/week. See if it offsets your fees and 4 months of paying $300 for accommodation. Then throw in another $300 for food, transport and other things every month. I don't know if I am giving you the answer you want. I just want to give you an overview of the expenses you would incur for you to know if to make a calculated risk or not. Please do not come to Canada and suffer. If you have a job in Nigeria, you can differ your admission and make more money to come better prepared. All the best as you make your final decision. Cheers! 4 Likes |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 1:27am On Feb 23, 2015 |
IyaEjima:Yippeeee!!! Glad I could help. A big congrats!!! Cheers!  1 Like |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 1:16am On Feb 23, 2015 |
misszionboo:Yaaaay!!! Glad to hear the good news. I admire your faith with the upfront medicals thingy. I guess it was your faith that did it for you  Congrats and thank God! Cheers! NB: Permission to upload your SOP to a file where other people can have access to. |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 3:06pm On Feb 13, 2015 |
standupguy:oh... sorry to hear about your delay again. I do not know what to say apart from never stop trying and don't sell yourself short to the VO. There was a list someone posted a while back as to what a VO actually replied to his enquiry about why he was delayed. Maybe you can use that to do some "fine-tuning". Abeg, do fast and come join me for this freezer... |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 3:03pm On Feb 13, 2015 |
soji0509:GREAT!!!! Seems we've got another Great Ife here. I carried the lapel of the school along with me and even gave my supervisor a Great Ife scarf which she hangs in her office I've not recovered my mail yet ooo. Totally forgotten the password. Thanks for the message though! Cheers! 1 Like |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 4:08am On Feb 13, 2015 |
oga/Madam - the last time i checked, there is a word called PERSONAL inside that SOP. yes - that is why it is personal ..u dont have to lift, copy and paste or modify what someelse has written. no 2 SOP's should be the same. Abeg, let us begin to apply ourselves. if an impromtu essay comes up during your studies, how u go take do am? u go begin ping, watsapp, skype, facetime, twitter even instagram @thawarriboy ,evergreeny2k et al to help you. Common people.<rant> This type of attitude irritates me and I believe this is one of the reasons why Nigeria is not progressing. Please permit me to take this personal and go into hibernation after I finish ranting. Yes, this is a rant! I worked in the Software Industry for quite a while in Nigeria and I met very brilliant and smart guys but the industry is going nowhere in Nigeria because our software developers lack something - COLLABORATION. I see dudes here churn our some wonderful apps and solve problems. I have met some of them and they are not half as smart as the average Nigerian but they are more productive. Why? 'Cos they put heads together and augment their strengths. Now bringing it home, someone was asking for an SOP to use as a guideline and you arrogantly dismiss the person. I honestly believe that a lot of people here fail in their application because they do not have ideas of how to package their applications and sell themselves to the VOs. I am a strong believer in the open-source stuff and sharing of knowledge. I mean, just imagine if people here could gain access to dozens of SOPs, they can pick ideas from a couple of them and form their own style. This new style would add more to the already existing dozen SOPs. See, these Indians, Bangladeshis, heck, even Iranians do not have a proper command of english and they chop TRV more than Naija. I stumbled on one of their forums and that was where I got most of my ideas from. Imagine! Iran has had strained ties with America for decades and don't even have a Canadian embassy or consulate or whatever in their country and still they are the 4th largest population in my school. Most of them said they went to Turkey to apply for TRV. How come these countries get approval despite terrorists ties or little or no diplomatic ties with Canada? They use templates. They collaborate. They share! Please guys, let's learn to share and collaborate more especially when it would add more to knowledge. I am not by any means saying you should share your SOP before you get your TRV (that is plain stupidity). But after you don chop the Visa, you can remove personal info from your SOP and share it. Or at least share the RESOURCES that you used to construct your own SOP if you are uncomfortable sharing your own. </rant> 20 Likes |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 3:30am On Feb 13, 2015 |
Too many questions at the same time...I advise you go back and read from Part 5. pchax shared this link a while ago kciano:Hey Kciano, if you checked out my document, the first page of my dad's document can serve as a letter of introduction (and that of my in law too). A letter of introduction should basically do the following: 1) Show the sponsor knows you (biological relationship or otherwise) 2) Show WHY the sponsor wants to sponsor you (Motivation) 3) Point out that the sponsor has the means to sponsor you from a brief explanation of his occupation. You can choose many formats to package your application just make sure that your letter of introduction reflects the above 3. Best of luck! 3 Likes |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 5:37am On Jan 09, 2015 |
Funjosh:Here you go! I assumed you want to travel exactly one month from now though. 2 Likes |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 5:27am On Jan 09, 2015 |
I can see beer was discussed earlier. That's nice but beer wouldn't cut it in this weather ooo. Na correct Schinaps go do am. |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 3:20am On Jan 06, 2015 |
kaynine59:Hey man! It was a long journey but I travelled in the company of 3 other Nairalanders and that made it kinda fun. We set out of Lagos on the 26th. Had a 25 hour delay in Rome due to Software Issues on the plane. They fed us like hungry men while they were repairing the plane (nothing like eating pizza in the home of pizza ). Got to Canada on the 28th and I have finally settled down although the cold na die shaaaaa.... Thanks for checking up on me. You go soon enter too and you go gist us about your own trip 8 Likes |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 10:55pm On Dec 25, 2014 |
tnuola:I get that feeling. Like I was waiting for my medical call up to drop my 2 weeks notice. Just be hopeful. It would come. |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 9:20pm On Dec 25, 2014 |
Cancity234:Keeping a vigil so as to sleep like a baby throughout the flight 3 Likes |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 3:00am On Dec 23, 2014 |
5p1naz:Why can't you use your current job  To me any job can be used as a link to what your study if you add a proper spin to it. You said you are a Director in a company so I would try and phrase a way you can link that to Architecture. I would be assuming your company did some remodelling on their office space or ware-house or whatever building you operate from. Mind you, I do not know anything about architecture or your area of proposed research so bear with me. "...serving as a director on the board of XYZ company has afforded me the opportunity to gain some insight into management and basically bridging the gap between theoretical learning in school and real life experiences. One of such experiences happened when I was overseeing the remodelling of our office space. Using my background from school, I was able to brainstorm with the contracted architect with more efficient ways through which we can maximize office space while maintaining an eco-friendly environment. The solution we came up with sparked an interest in me and I continued looking for more efficient ways to achieve the same result. This led me to read some research papers on the relationship between architecture and a green environment. Hence, my decision to pursue an MSc in Architecture with focus on green-Architecture..." As I said earlier on, I do not know jack about architecture or your experience or your proposed research field. I just wanted to let you know that any kind of work you have done is a valuable experience and with the right amount of thought, you can put a spin on it and link it to your proposed MSc field. Best of luck. 16 Likes 1 Share |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 2:44am On Dec 23, 2014 |
9jabiggurl: Yes I agree sop should not be boring but if you feel reducing your sop to 2 pages will remove some vital points by all means leave it @ 3.Wetin una dey write biko If you can't state your purpose in a page, then you might be telling the VOs some unwanted stories. But if that helped you, all well and good. |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 2:37am On Dec 23, 2014 |
5p1naz:Cool schools. Just study the admission requirements like the back of your hand. Mail the grad secretary of the department and make enquiries as often as possible. You should get in bu God's Grace. Wishing you the best bro! |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 9:46pm On Dec 18, 2014 |
mrnilobrawn:you want expose my unclothedness for NL with that question ooo... if we dey private chat now, i for tell you na tejuosho market i buy i am for 3k. but as we come dey public chat, na for marks&spencer shop for city mall i buy am for 35k. 11 Likes 1 Share |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 9:34pm On Dec 18, 2014 |
Cancity234:Baba... I never buy box ooo... But I done buy sweater shaaaaaa... 1 Like |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 9:28pm On Dec 18, 2014 |
Ebola:Wait ooo... I thought you submitted your passport in Oregun. I don't know much about Accra stuff. Me I be newbie for these international travelling things. infact the closest I have been to the boarder is Niger Republic (don't ask what I was doing there). Maybe you can get the embassy to give you a note. Or print that letter that told you to submit your passport and carry photocopy of ur passport along. Let us know how that works out please. |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 12:55pm On Dec 18, 2014 |
5p1naz:Now you are talking. You gave us more details that we can work with like your area of specialization, your CGPA etc. To start with, I admire your taste in schools. UBC and uMich are really top schools in their respective countries (they are both within top 5 in their countries in Computer Science don't know about other fields). Having said that, to enter such schools for an MSc, your application would be considered against some crazy dudes who made a Quant score of 175 in GRE and developed a super-collider in their BSc level. So what's the way forward? I would advice you decide on a country to start with. USA and Canada have similar educational systems but different immigration systems. Choose the one that suits your need. You mentioned standard of living. You can google most expensive cities in USA (Newyork, LA etc) or Canada (Vancouver, Toronto etc) and then you look for schools not in that city to apply to. Another way to go around this is to know your research interest and get schools that are good in that field. It would surprise you that some little schools may be masters in your research field. For example, University of Waikato (New Zealand though) or something like that is one of the leading schools in Machine Learning cos of the software they developed. Wishing you the best bro! 2 Likes |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 10:25pm On Dec 17, 2014 |
mrnilobrawn:Is this what you want 1 Like
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| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 10:19pm On Dec 17, 2014 |
mrnilobrawn:Baba.. I do not have access to my NL mail ooo... you need to follow me so I can send you a message with my real email. You can unfollow me after you get the message |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 10:12pm On Dec 17, 2014 |
misszionboo:Here you go! |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 10:10pm On Dec 17, 2014 |
adeekiti:Do not use an individual. I know of maple as a reliable agency shaaaa... Come to think of it, I can be your agent ooo... just $300/month (accomodation fees) for the duration of the process  On a more serious note, I have heard of maple before and it seems they are legit. But almost all info is online now. Just take an evening out, fire up your laptop, and comb CIC website for the info you need even if you use an agency. |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 10:06pm On Dec 17, 2014 |
Ebola:Your passport can stay in Oregun for 2 weeks before they send it back. I would advice you go there blindly shaaa... I did not receive any notification that my passport was ready to be collected. I submitted on Monday and went back on Wednesday morning blindly. They said it was not there. I asked when it would be around. The guy checked his computer and told me 2pm that same day. Went back by 2pm. Tada! It was there. Just take that biometric slip/payment slip or whatever they call that piece of paper along with you when going. 1 Like 1 Share |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 10:02pm On Dec 17, 2014 |
mrnilobrawn:Dropbox is used to store files online. they give you some free space (20GB i guess) upon registration. I guess you want to share some of your documents with us here. Once you open an account, go to upload files and upload the file. When you want to share with us click on "share". Copy the url and paste here. Anyone that has that url can view that file ONLY not your other files. |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 9:51pm On Dec 17, 2014 |
5p1naz:Good question. Now let's see how we can try to dignify it with a response. There are over 1,000 schools in US and Canada that offer Masters. Since your preferences are good acceptance rate and affordable city (which strikes me as a paradox because CITIES are not often times that affordable to school in relatively), I would advice you start from the bottom up. Do a kind of analysis of income levels of the cities and compare it to the cost of living in the city. A good factor for comparison is the cost of beer. Find the cities with the cheapest beer rates and go to their city council website and find out the cost of living. You then compare the cost of living with your projected income. Make sure you include inflation rates in your calculation. The price of crude oil should be taken into cognizance too as it affects inflation rate. I guess you are still reading as I am trying to dignify your question with a response cos it is really hard for me to recommend schools in US and Canada without knowing your full details. On a more serious note, in summary, use google. Sorry for being a jer*k. 4 Likes 2 Shares |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 9:35pm On Dec 17, 2014 |
mrnilobrawn:I would try to send you a PM. But I don't have access to my PM shaaa... Hope money go komot shaaaa EDIT: I guess you need to follow me for me to send you a PM Seun got some special messaging algorithm going on here on NL |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 9:31pm On Dec 17, 2014 |
opsynusy:Do not just state you are UNEMPLOYED. Try as much as possible not to use any negative connotations or inferences in your application. You can say something like "...having finished my first degree in December, I was advised by my Professors to pursue a Masters in blah blah blah because of my blah blah blah skills. Since then, I HAVE BEEN BUSY doing some independent research on blah blah blah while doing some community project as part of service to my fatherland in blah blah blah State..." Please do not sell yourself short. 8 Likes |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 4:29am On Dec 15, 2014 |
luvly3:I'm still in Nigeria and would be trying to get to my feet in Windsor Ontario in a few days time |
| Travel › Re: Travelling To Canada Part 7 by pchax: 8:59pm On Dec 14, 2014 |
Tsola6:I thought you were already in Vancouver (SFU) . Congrats though! |
