₦airaland Forum

Hello all, how effective are online French classes at Alliance Francaise?

Tyleet:
Visa denied this morning at Lagos embassy. Gurus please help me take a look and suggest ways to improve. I got no funding from the university so my COA was $40K.


Me: Good morning madam
VO: no answer
VO: Pass me your passport and i20
Me: I did
VO: starts typing then asks where are you going?
Me: I am going to pursue a masters degree in Animal Science at the University of Nebraska Lincoln
VO: what are you doing presently?
Me: I'm a poultry farmer
VO: So what will this degree do for you?
Me: My goal is to pursue both my masters and PhD at the same time in the same unl which I have discussed with my supervisor. After my PhD, I intend to return to Nigeria to take up a lecturing job at my alma mater. I have always been interested in teaching agriculture to students and I love to give back to my alma mater where I earned my 1st, degree. A PhD in animal science will position me as a great candidate for the job.
VO: points to i20 and asked who is paying this $40000?
Me: my uncle
VO: what does he do?
Me: he is a real estate investor, who manages my late grandfather's real estate properties in Lagos and Abeokuta. He was the one who sponsored my high school and college education and I lived with him all through my time in college.
VO: How is he going to pay?
Me: I have his bank statement with me as well as my late grandfathers will wherein he stated that proceeds from the real estate industry can be used for the educational programs of his children. At this time I wanted to pass the bank statement to her but she said no.
VO: what type of account does he have?
Me: savings
VO: Does he have a US account?
ME: NO. I will be the one to open the account when I get there and he will send the money into my account and then I will pay it to the school.
Me: Passes the financial statements to her again
VO: (She collects it and cross-check. The statement has a balance of about #30000000)
VO: Okay but I'm sorry you did not qualify at this time. You can reapply.

Twoods, Fairheart, lagosismyhome, other gurus, pls kindly contribute your thoughts

Alot of guys here have explained how to go about the visa interview, yet folks still insist on doing it their own way, using the wrong approach. If you had read previous successful visa interviews on this forum, you wouldn't have said most of the things you said. The only thing I will say to you is that your focus should be on MSc only (In my opinion), when you are in, you can choose to proceed to PhD.
And when you are ask " What will the degree do for you? You should be able to explain in one or two clear sentences, what you will do with the degree. Again you should identify the challenges faced it the "animal" industry in Nigeria and how you plan to address a part of it with the skills you will gain from the program. It ok to say you want to take up academic position in your former school, but then you are not having any form of funding from the school ( In my opinion, that "line" may be weak. So you should build your case with better options by identifying challenges and how you ll address it.

If you are able to deal clearly with the question above, there is going to be less scrutiny on who is paying your fees, check previous transcripts on this thread of people with no funding and how they overcome that question; your response to that and other questions that followed was just too superfluous.

TWoods:
Assistance for? America is a relatively simple place to navigate, students also have their program assistants and ISO to help them with issues like transportation, housing, on- or off-campus jobs, visa issues, etc. I think we should encourage students here to take advantage of those resources. They are there to help them. Asking students to "please mention me here" is ridiculous. What "little" can you do for them when you are not a citizen yourself, obviously for a fee?

neyosea25:
Hello everyone, I have BTech. Earth Science ( applied geophysics) and intend to go for MS GIS in the US. GIS is a post graduate course (professional) which is somehow related to Geosciences but at the same time multidiscilplinary course. Will this make my visa application easy? Must the MS course be exactly the same as the undergraduate course? Or must the MS course align with job if one is working?

Why do you want to do GIS? Do you have anything in mind? I think Environmental Geophysics/Hydrogeophysics will give you better prospect, but the choice is yours to make.

ObamaMessi:
Hi House, pls answer these questions: 1) what's the full meaning of V O and WES?
2) I've not seen prospective students asking question about Harvard and Yale, is there any perceived reason? Thanks in anticipation.

People who go to Yale or Harvard don't come here to ask questions; they already know what to do (pun intended). Since you are asking questions here, are you sure you want to go to Yale or Havard?
As for VO or WES: one is Visa Officer the second is World Education Services. Next time you come across abbreviation you don't know type it on google, it ll help build your search skills.

tonero4urch:
Guys, please can you rate these universities accounding to rank, job prospects, alumni, learning experience, diversity, and great faculty members etc

1 Georgia state university
2 Florida International University
3 University of South Florida
4 Stevens institute of Technology
5 Middle Tennessee State University
6 Western Illinois University

N/B
I got admission in all of them but only one gave me funding (deficit of 4500 dollars), employment in the department as a lab Assistant and a monthly stipend.

You can actually do this yourself; however funding (if you don't have your personal funds) is actually a factor in choosing schools in the US.
In my opinion here are the two things you should do, outside the research work you will be doing probably in these schools. Firstly, you should look at the schools your potential supervisors went to; I bet most of them went to top/good schools. Secondly, which is the most important; search for their past students and where they are. There are platforms to that, one is directly from the school websites (but not always up to date). The second one is through linkedin. If you are on linkedin, you can search for past graduate students using the search bar...... something like this "molecular biologist, Georgia State University". You ll see past students and probably where they currently work at the moment.
NB: You should be aware that "majority" of them are citizens.

tonero4urch:
School ofcourse .

Put the school there.

Ogbanz:
Good Morning everyone.

I got a US visa denial recently in Lagos, Nigeria. However, could not point out where exactly the problem came from. Kindly read my transcripts below and assist me. I am about reapplying.

Status: Denied-Lagos, Nigeria.
Time: 8:45am @ 16th June 2021
(I got full ride scholarship)

VO: Good morning sir.
Me: Good morning to you, sir. And how are you doing, sir?
VO: I am fine, sir. Please, pass me your passport & i20
Me: You can have it, sir.
VO: Where are you going, sir?
Me: I am going for doctoral studies in Engineering Physics at the University of Missouri, St. Louis with a concentration in Mathematical Physics & Quantum Computation.
VO: I can see you have full funding from the department. Will you be working for the department?
ME: sure sir
VO: are you married?
Me: Yes. I am married and blessed with 3 kids sir
VO: are there going with you?
Me: Obviously no, sir. My wife works as a clinical Sociologist at ABC Agency in Lagos. And my kids will be staying with her
VO: what your concentration?
Me: Mathematical Physics & Quantum Computation
VO: Have you traveled before?
Me: Yes sir. In the year 2014 with my wife for a vacation.
VO: Where sir?
ME: U.A.E
VO: He took my passport out of his counter to the inner room for a while and came back (I think he took it in for verification).
VO: You have a master’s degree in physics, right?
Me: yes sir.
VO: what do you do sir?
Me: I work as a Computer/System analyst at ABC Health Agency where I manage the Computer System and Internet infrastructure, Train staff on Computer & Networking skills, Facilitate training etc
VO: what do you intend to do with this degree when you finish?
Me: Upon completion, I would return to my job at the agency and assume a new position of research fellow where I will build capacity, develop new products and work closely with the development & innovation arm of the agency to produce new products. I will also collaborate and publish papers in reputable journal outlets.
VO: type for some time and hand me a blue paper.

Thank You

You could easily have said you will be taken up academic position in XYZ University. In my opinion, I think the first destinations for PhDs is the acadermia. Returning to Health Agency after your PhD get as eh bi, my opinion.

emmanuelle27:
Question for the the TL, you sent a professor an email, telling him that you have interest in his/her research specialization and will love to work with him, then you ask if he has space in his lab for you for Ms? That if he needs your transcript/CV you'll readily supply, then he replies and tells you that he has space, that you should please apply to the graduate school. He didn't ask for any sort of transcript/CV, now how do you see that reply as regards funding, do you think he'll fund you if admitted?

Check to see how funding look like in the department...how many TA do they give out each years?. Check if the Prof. has his own funding (very important) for research, hence he is looking for MSc students with the right profile. Finally, that some Prof. tell you to apply doesn't even equate admission, how much more funding.

Denuga91:
Guys here is my proposed transcript.
University: Illinois State University
Program: Msc Hydrogeology
Tuition & Fees $17000
Living Expense: $8000

V.O: Where are you going to in the US?.

ME: I'm going to Illinois State University for my Masters in Hydrogeology.

V.O: Why Hydrogeology?

ME: About 40% of groundwater is conterminated with radioactive materials. This program will expose me to latest scientific techniques that are deployed in ground water treatment which we don't have in Nigeria as we speak; a good example is Granulated Activated Carbon treatment, so as to make groundwater safe for whatever use. Especially in bottling companies like Nigerian breweries coca-cola etc.

V.O: How many schools do you apply to?

ME: 3

VO: Name them

ME : Illinois State University, Oklahoma State University and University of Arkansas.

V.O: Why did you go for ISU?

ME: There are actually 2 reasons.
Firstly, the just concluded research work by Dr Peterson got my attention. He worked on Radon Concentration in Groundwater, and this is what I'm working on as a research assistant.
Secondly, from the three schools, it is only ISU that has a research lab that is designed exclusively for the purpose of research in Random Conc in groundwater.
V.O: What's your study plan
ME: I'll be taking a 32 credit hour class within 24 months, a few of my class includes, Engineering geology, Geochemistry. Micropalaeontology amongst others. I'll also be going for field trips and field mappings.
VO: What did you study in your undergraduate?
ME: I studied applied Geology, I graduated 2018 September.
VO:What have you been doing after that?
ME: I started working as a research assistant under my supervisor Dr Afolabi for 4months, then I went for my mandatory one year youth service. After that, I returned to my supervisor and continued working as a research assistant.
V.O: What is your research about?
ME: It's on Radon Concert in Groundwater. I carry out alkaline and ph analyisis on samples of groundwater collected in airtight plastic bottles, I also probe for random concentration in them using a machine called Rad7. I also review and write journals for my Supervisor, currently we are planning to write a journal together. It would be great to be a coauthor.
V.O: what will this program do for you?
ME: firstly it will improve the quality of my research when I'm back to Nigeria, especially the geochemical composition of radon and geospatial distribution of groundwater. I also want to have my own groundwater treatment plant, I'm looking at partnering with Nigerian breweries to help purify their water from radioactive elements before production.
V.O: Who is footing these bills.
ME: My maternal uncle.
V.O:What does he do?
ME: He is a retired lawyer and he currently run a real estate business.
VO: Why is he sponsoring you?
ME: He has been my father figure since I lost my dad in 2019.
V.O: I'll be approving your visa.

What will the program do for you?
The program will provide me with the skills needed to have a successful career as a Hydrogeologist, specifically in the areas of contaminant hydrogeology/groundwater geochemistry. I intend to establish a/my consulting firm (Groundwater Treatment Plant) to provide consulting services to the Nigerian Breweries to help purify their water from radioactive elements before production. As well as State and Federal Ministry of Environment, in the remediation of polluted sites.

I ll be taking courses such as Aquifer Systems, Introduction to Groundwater Modelling, Hydrology, Aqueous Geochemistry.

GreatUniben:
I was admitted to PhD Language study recently with Graduate Assistantship/Teaching Assistantship at Clemson University in South Carolina. Can I accept now and later reject if another PhD Language study, admission in a different school comes up?

What is the time frame given to you to accept the offer? If it April 15th for example, why don't you wait for other offers as well. At the PhD level, it is a very small world. Accepting an offer and later rejecting it doesn't sit well. If you have time before accepting the offer wait until you hear from the other schools you applied to.

[quote author=BOLAUWA post=64943046]Hello gurus in the house. good day. thanks for all d good work here. please I have some questions to ask.
1) I already have WES evaluation done by WES USA.Dunno if I can request that it be sent to Canada to evaluation.

2) i have ielts academic version,and d result is really good. is it possible to apply to Canada for express entry with this result?

3) I have a denial with d USA under 214b, does it affect my application?


YES, send a mail to WES US. They will ask you to provide another e-mail address to enable them create WES Canada for you and transfer your documents already with them to WES Canada. You will have to pay for the new evaluation.

.

Time2Smile:
Take heart dear, Everything will turn out well. After reading your post, I had to go and reread his initial response to you to make sure you weren't overacting. And you are absolutely right. It was so mean and full of bile.
If someone ask for an advice, and you don't have any to offer, how difficult can it be to just move on.

This is his post today on another thread.


There is a fine line between being a straight talker and an internet troll.

I just read and smiled.

BrightFuture48:
Yes! as scholastica16 has rightly pointed out. Try and mail the prof. in your research area. Introduce yourself briefly and express willingness to join their team.

However, due to volume of emails they normal received from prospective students, it can be very disappointing at time, not to get the reply soon. But here is the catch!

When mailing the prof. Try and read one or two things about them before, and make the subject of your email some thing that showing appreciation like: Thank you sir, etc. The goal is to make them open the email, and by extension see your profile.The first paragraph should reflect the subject of the email.Then in the second paragraph, introduce yourself along with your profile, and express willingness to join their research team, which hopefully will entice them.

This has worked for me. I just got a reply from a prof. in GaTeach expressing interest in me, if am admitted into any GT graduate programs. Though, am just prepping for my GRE and TOELF, hope to write the exam early Jan. God willing!.

GSU grad coordinator also tell me to start talking to any prof. I will be willing to do research with, because I'm also considering that as well. So, its a good thing if you can get in touch with any POI in your research area, as soon as possible. All the best bro!

The subject of the mail should not be thank you sir, but rather:
Prospective (MS/PhD) student seeking to study............
or Prospective (MS/PhD) student with research interest in ..................

SimmsK:
Okay I will Thanks. Am new to this Nairaland. So I had no idea there was even 'PM' So can I pls PM you? As regards my statement of intent for admission?

I am not the best person to look at your SOI (Very Rusty). You are in good hands with Jnyuwa.

SimmsK:
Ok thanks but I still need help with my statement of intent not to mention research proposal. I feel so empty right now like I don't even know how or where to start. As u say it's not safe to send it here?

It is not safe at all. Next time when you start building a conversation with someone here, just ask if you can PM the person in private.

Are Africans not canadian citizens?.

lanrayx:
pls someone

There are no difference, those are just english words

Danoluwa:
hello gurus in the house, I am planning on writing GRE in Oct and I need some material. I have gotten barron, gruber and the official ETS material. I don't knw if anyone can assist with 5lb Manhattan series and Magoosh materials.

Secondly I have a Bsc (3.86/5) In geology and Msc in petroleum Geosciences (4.84/5). I Have a published paper in a well recognised journal (NAPE). I intend going for PHD but if not possible I can go for another MSc spring or fall 2018. What are my chances of getting funding and I need advice of safe schools that offer geology.

Google PhD in Petroleum Geology in US and start ur search from there. Majority of the schools I know are top schools. University of Michigan, Texas A M University College Station, Pennsylvania State University, I think you should look at Louisiana State University!

Olakunlae:
3.37/4. Thanks

Alright

atiteb4:
is it a must to use from first year to last year or we can use only 400level and 500level result only? Because my 100-300level worst.

You must use first year to last year.

Olakunlae:
3.85/5.00

You CGPA should be somewhere around 3.2-3.4/4!

These are the reasons certain individuals uses BLEEP/Bleep Schools, the guy is busy enjoying his program, some person(s) are busy questioning how he got funding with a certain GRE score. Na wa for una here oh.

.

Senorita123:
Hi guys... Keep up the good work. I just started following this page. Please I need your advice or someone to put me through. I graduated with a gp of 3.34 on a scale of 5. That is second class lower. However, I wish to go for my masters abroad. I contacted an agent and he requested for 350k. I can't afford this neither can my parents. I have managed to save some money from my teaching job but even if I continue saving for the next five years with the job, I still cannot afford the tuition. Please what will you advice I do to get the necessary funding considering my low gp. Which country should I consider? I don't av any idea regarding this travelling stuff. All ideas, arguments, advices and constructive criticism are welcome. Thanks and God bless.

You don't need an agent for anything please get this very clear. All you need at the moment are on this thread. What is your major? You will need to prepare very well for Standardised Test to boost your chance of admission into GOOD SCHOOLS as well as funding where applicable. Always come here to ask your questions, I am sure you will get one or two answers. On no account should you use an agent, it will not do you any good.

usqoh:
guys kindly answer me na

WES send transcript to schools directly on your behalf. You cannot do that.

It is not compulsory that you must use WES evaluate your transcript. It depends on the school requirement which you have to check.

Yes you can use your transcripts that your school gave to you for your application to your prospective school. This also depend on the school requirement i.e if that is what they need.

dannyjumbo:
pls which should I pay for?

Go for the WES ICAP Course By Course Option, that way your WES Translations is permanently stored in their Data Base. All you have to do is order for your WES Translation to be sent to school XYZ, if that is what they need. I hope it is for school admission?

I m not going to take side but sometimes the way some of you accuse someone without proof is uncalled for. You all can read backward and see how its all started.

234ng44uk:
Kindly Google search "BY mafit GRE". Some people kids here already think I'm some agent of sort.

Why don't you tell him or her, what is your business with how "people" think.

dennison4luv:
Greetings guys please what is ur take in registrating for GRE and TOFEL with Mafit Ltd in ikeja and please can refer me to another place better than Mafit ltd

If you read this thread carefully you will not have ask this question. Alot of persons who took the test recently registered through B Y MAFIT with no complain at all. If you can't take the risk because you feel it is too cheap, please register through ETS.