₦airaland Forum

Hello House, from 12am tonight, my resumption date falls within 60days to request for an emergency appointment! I initially choose Lagos as my interview place but I switched to Abuja when I couldn't find any closer date in Lagos. Do I need to fill a new DS-160 form showing Abuja as my preferred place before requesting for the emergency appointment I'm confused as I'm seeing some threads saying I need to change to Abuja to get the emergency appointment approved on time ?? I dont want to request and find out I cant get any closer dates ? I'm seeing first available date 30/6/2021 right below the click here..

Check the attached image [img][/img]

Westlife007:
Hello House, from 12am tonight, my resumption date falls within 60days to request for an emergency appointment! I initially choose Lagos as my interview place but I switched to Abuja when I couldn't find any closer date in Lagos. Do I need to fill a new DS-160 form showing Abuja as my preferred place before requesting for the emergency appointment I'm confused as I'm seeing some threads saying I need to change to Abuja to get the emergency appointment approved on time ?? I dont want to request and find out I cant get any closer dates ? I'm seeing first available date 30/6/2021 right below the click here..

Check the attached image [img][/img]

Please have you scheduled an appointment at Lagos before changing to Abuja, like did you choose a date before in Lagos? How did you switched?

And concerning your question you can edit your Ds-160 location if you haven’t submitted yet, if you have, I will advise you fill a new ds160 and choose Abuja

No I didn't schedule any appointment for Lagos, I just choose Abuja right away.

I have submitted the DS-160 form., are you sure I need to fill a new Form and choose Abuja.. Jeez

Juice2Pac:
Please have you scheduled an appointment at Lagos before changing to Abuja, like did you choose a date before in Lagos? How did you switched?

And concerning your question you can edit your Ds-160 location if you haven’t submitted yet, if you have, I will advise you fill a new ds160 and choose Abuja

Linccoln:
Hi Kenwizy,
I believe the best one can do is to wait and hope for the best, since they've promised to send you the official docs later. What I'm not sure of is whether they will be starting the classes on 23rd August with the way they're wasting much time on application and funding processing.

Really appreciate your response...
Please I would like to have a personal chat with you to have an idea how GA interview is always like.
Here is my contact 07037357395 or you dm me please..

Many thanks

Westlife007:
Hello House, from 12am tonight, my resumption date falls within 60days to request for an emergency appointment! I initially choose Lagos as my interview place but I switched to Abuja when I couldn't find any closer date in Lagos. Do I need to fill a new DS-160 form showing Abuja as my preferred place before requesting for the emergency appointment I'm confused as I'm seeing some threads saying I need to change to Abuja to get the emergency appointment approved on time ?? I dont want to request and find out I cant get any closer dates ? I'm seeing first available date 30/6/2021 right below the click here..

Check the attached image [img][/img]

You can go ahead to request emergency appointment. You don’t have to fill a new ds160. I put a call through to the embassy cos I had the same issue and was told I can go ahead to use my initial ds160 that I don’t have to fill a new one

Themaths:
Yes, it's possible. Popularly dubbed "Direct PhD", but your profile has to be strong to land one. Goodluck.

Please can you define the term strong?

Good evening everyone
Please is it red flag to change school and course after a prior refusal within 2 months? First course is Business analytics ,new course is Applied statistics and decision making,different schools?

Westlife007:
Hello House, from 12am tonight, my resumption date falls within 60days to request for an emergency appointment! I initially choose Lagos as my interview place but I switched to Abuja when I couldn't find any closer date in Lagos. Do I need to fill a new DS-160 form showing Abuja as my preferred place before requesting for the emergency appointment I'm confused as I'm seeing some threads saying I need to change to Abuja to get the emergency appointment approved on time ?? I dont want to request and find out I cant get any closer dates ? I'm seeing first available date 30/6/2021 right below the click here..

Check the attached image [img][/img]

The truth is, you'll not find that date as the first available date
30/06/2021

Get a 310+ score on gre(not compulsory but the higher the better), good undergrad transcript (better 80% above), publications if possible, strong recommendation letters, and submit a well articulated statement of purpose. Apply to at least 8 schools with your research interest, With that you'll be fine.

GreatMage:
Please can you define the term strong?

In addition, your under grad course should also be same as your proposed PhD field. If not, you should have work experience in your proposed PhD field. If you have same under grad, work experience and proposed PhD course, it makes your profile better. Also, before you apply, go through faculty lists and mail professors with similar research interests. Time consuming but It would help.

author=Hybeesalau post=103123610]Get a 310+ score on gre(not compulsory but the higher the better), good undergrad transcript (better 80% above), publications if possible, strong recommendation letters, and submit a well articulated statement of purpose. Apply to at least 8 schools with your research interest, With that you'll be fine.[/quote]

Okay.

jerry8243:
Abuja

GreatMage:
Please can you define the term strong?

Good GPA, good GRE score if applicable and relevant research experience, publications also.

Olomojola:
Good evening everyone
Please is it red flag to change school and course after a prior refusal within 2 months? First course is Business analytics ,new course is Applied statistics and decision making,different schools?

Be prepared enough to be able to convince the VO why the switch.

wow!!!!!!!

Bank450:
I sent you a DM, Please reply. Thank you

Huge red flag please don’t try it

Olomojola:
Good evening everyone
Please is it red flag to change school and course after a prior refusal within 2 months? First course is Business analytics ,new course is Applied statistics and decision making,different schools?

GreatMage:
Please can you define the term strong?

Strong is relative, but I'll try to quantify it,

*Good GPA - 3.0/4.0. (for competitive GPAs. 3.5 and above.

*GRE score: aim above 310.

*Toefl: aim 90 and above.

*Your statement of purpose should be very concise, and sell your strong points ridiculously well.

* letters of recommendations from your lecturers should be well drafted, branding you as a competent student.

Anyone with such profile is usually competitive.

Though this is is subjective to the school applied to.; For instance, schools with very low acceptance rates; Cornell, Yale, Havavrd, UTaustin etc usually require "very strong profiles" to be considered for admission.

Hope that answers your question.

Adaigbonile1:
MY TRANSCRIPT
Date: 25-06-2021
Venue/Time: Abuja, 8.30am
Merit Scholarship: $26,000
Deficit of $50,000
Number of attempts: 1st
Status: APPROVED
School: Syracuse University College of Law (SUCOL) New York.

V.O: Good morn(with a warm smile on her face), can I have your passport and i20.
Me: Good morn(I gave her passport and i20)

V.O: I see you're going to SUCOL for your LL.M
Me: yes ma'am

V.O: which area of law will you specialise
Me: International Environment law and International Human Rights Law

V.O: I see you have a scholarship of $26,000 and deficit of 50,000. Who's paying for the deficit ?
Me: Mr XYZ, my guardian
V.O What do you mean by your guardian, is he your uncle or cousin or immediate family, does he live in Nigeria, what does he do?
Me: No, he's someone from my community who has shown great interest in my education from time immemorial, even during my undergrad days when my mother died. (She nodded). He lives in Nigeria. He's an established business man that deals in automobiles, auto transport and logistics business. I have been under his retainership as the legal representative of his company since after my call to bar. He's also into properties and real estate. As his legal rep, I always conduct due diligence in his real estate deals.

V.O: do you know anybody in the U.S
Me: Yes, I know Mr ABC. (Note: I filled mr Abc in my DS160 as my contact person upon arrival)

V.O: what's your relationship with him, is he your uncle or cousin
Me: he's a distant relative

VO: what do you mean by that
Me: he's not my immediate family. I met him on facebook and I got to know he's from my hometown and I made arrangement for him to pick me up upon arrival and take me to SUCOL where I'll meet my DSO for documentation..( note, at this point I was almost loosing focus, sweating and stuttering. Anyways, VO nodded after I laboured to give this answer)

V.O: What do you do currently?
Me: I work in Xyzzz law firm as an Associate

V.O: how many years practice experience
Me: 6 years

V.O: what are your duties
Me: Litigation generally, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Legal representation of companies upon retainership, property and real estate

V.O: what aspect of litigation
Me: Civil litigation
VO: (looks suprised) you mean you represent clients in court from inception to judgment?
Me: yes ma

V.O: how many lawyers do you have in your firm
Me: 10 lawyers

V.O: what are your plans after studies in SUCOL, will you return to the firm or are you quitting?
Me: I'll definitely return

V.O (types for a while) I see you got this admission last year and deferred twice.
Me: yes ma'am, because of the pandemic last year.

V.O : I'm going to approve your visa. Take your i20, you'll need it at the POE and remember there are a lotta restrictions at the POE...blah blah blah

*During the interview I maintained close eye contact with her especially when she's not typing. I didn't memorize any answers, I made sure my confidence was intact.
Anyway, I struggled a lot to hear her cos she was speaking very fast, so in two occasions I told her to repeat the question. She was quite patient with me.
One thing is, you can't lie to them and get away with it easily, so make sure you stick with whatever you filled in your Ds160. They like to hear that you have work experience too. That was my biggest selling point. She didn't ask me about sponsor's bank statement nor any other documents. I also want to believe that they don't like hearing "uncle or cousin". The reason she emphasized on it in two of my questions.
Note: this whole questions and answers happened under 3-4mins. I also noticed many F1 students were granted visa that day.

This your school seems to be quite expensive....all the best though

If you haven’t booked a date in Lagos, it’s possible to switch to Abuja. You don’t have to pay another fee

Flexigenius:
Hello?
Good day!

I applied for an expedited date at the Lagos Embassy, and I’m yet to receive an email or any notification on my portal of an approval.

But I’ve been visiting the ‘reschedule appointment’ tab, and it’s now telling me that I’m approaching the maximum number of times I can visit the tab. Please, what does this mean? Is there even a maximum number?

And I noticed there are now earlier dates as 23 November 2021, as against 4 January 2024 that was available when I applied.

Adaigbonile1:
MY TRANSCRIPT
Date: 25-06-2021
Venue/Time: Abuja, 8.30am
Merit Scholarship: $26,000
Deficit of $50,000
Number of attempts: 1st
Status: APPROVED
School: Syracuse University College of Law (SUCOL) New York.

V.O: Good morn(with a warm smile on her face), can I have your passport and i20.
Me: Good morn(I gave her passport and i20)

V.O: I see you're going to SUCOL for your LL.M
Me: yes ma'am

V.O: which area of law will you specialise
Me: International Environment law and International Human Rights Law

V.O: I see you have a scholarship of $26,000 and deficit of 50,000. Who's paying for the deficit ?
Me: Mr XYZ, my guardian
V.O What do you mean by your guardian, is he your uncle or cousin or immediate family, does he live in Nigeria, what does he do?
Me: No, he's someone from my community who has shown great interest in my education from time immemorial, even during my undergrad days when my mother died. (She nodded). He lives in Nigeria. He's an established business man that deals in automobiles, auto transport and logistics business. I have been under his retainership as the legal representative of his company since after my call to bar. He's also into properties and real estate. As his legal rep, I always conduct due diligence in his real estate deals.

V.O: do you know anybody in the U.S
Me: Yes, I know Mr ABC. (Note: I filled mr Abc in my DS160 as my contact person upon arrival)

V.O: what's your relationship with him, is he your uncle or cousin
Me: he's a distant relative

VO: what do you mean by that
Me: he's not my immediate family. I met him on facebook and I got to know he's from my hometown and I made arrangement for him to pick me up upon arrival and take me to SUCOL where I'll meet my DSO for documentation..( note, at this point I was almost loosing focus, sweating and stuttering. Anyways, VO nodded after I laboured to give this answer)

V.O: What do you do currently?
Me: I work in Xyzzz law firm as an Associate

V.O: how many years practice experience
Me: 6 years

V.O: what are your duties
Me: Litigation generally, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Legal representation of companies upon retainership, property and real estate

V.O: what aspect of litigation
Me: Civil litigation
VO: (looks suprised) you mean you represent clients in court from inception to judgment?
Me: yes ma

V.O: how many lawyers do you have in your firm
Me: 10 lawyers

V.O: what are your plans after studies in SUCOL, will you return to the firm or are you quitting?
Me: I'll definitely return

V.O (types for a while) I see you got this admission last year and deferred twice.
Me: yes ma'am, because of the pandemic last year.

V.O : I'm going to approve your visa. Take your i20, you'll need it at the POE and remember there are a lotta restrictions at the POE...blah blah blah

*During the interview I maintained close eye contact with her especially when she's not typing. I didn't memorize any answers, I made sure my confidence was intact.
Anyway, I struggled a lot to hear her cos she was speaking very fast, so in two occasions I told her to repeat the question. She was quite patient with me.
One thing is, you can't lie to them and get away with it easily, so make sure you stick with whatever you filled in your Ds160. They like to hear that you have work experience too. That was my biggest selling point. She didn't ask me about sponsor's bank statement nor any other documents. I also want to believe that they don't like hearing "uncle or cousin". The reason she emphasized on it in two of my questions.
Note: this whole questions and answers happened under 3-4mins. I also noticed many F1 students were granted visa that day.

Hearty Congratulations

Thanks so much

didogzy:
You can go ahead to request emergency appointment. You don’t have to fill a new ds160. I put a call through to the embassy cos I had the same issue and was told I can go ahead to use my initial ds160 that I don’t have to fill a new one

Hybeesalau:
Get a 310+ score on gre(not compulsory but the higher the better), good undergrad transcript (better 80% above), publications if possible, strong recommendation letters, and submit a well articulated statement of purpose. Apply to at least 8 schools with your research interest, With that you'll be fine.

These seem difficult plus I am almost done so I don't know if I still take time...

Themaths:
Good GPA, good GRE score if applicable and relevant research experience, publications also.

Thanks alot. Guess I have work to do...

NigPatriot:
Strong is relative, but I'll try to quantify it,

*Good GPA - 3.0/4.0. (for competitive GPAs. 3.5 and above.

*GRE score: aim above 310.

*Toefl: aim 90 and above.

*Your statement of purpose should be very concise, and sell your strong points ridiculously well.

* letters of recommendations from your lecturers should be well drafted, branding you as a competent student.

Anyone with such profile is usually competitive.

Though this is is subjective to the school applied to.; For instance, schools with very low acceptance rates; Cornell, Yale, Havavrd, UTaustin etc usually require "very strong profiles" to be considered for admission.

Hope that answers your question.

Feeling discouraged already....

Maybe I will just settle for msc?

Afterall, quora said IT and engineering students don't really need PhD.

Thanks.

Olomojola:
Good evening everyone
Please is it red flag to change school and course after a prior refusal within 2 months? First course is Business analytics ,new course is Applied statistics and decision making,different schools?

So basically you don't want to go to school, you're simply shopping around to see what gets you a visa.

vickysunmomi:
I sent you an email

Please, i haven't seen any email yet. Just reach out oritsemeremiamujikunanthony@gmail.com

Good day all,

I am a prospective applicant for Fall 2022 Phd. I have ND-Upper credit, HND-Upper credit, Bsc-4.19/5 all Accounting and Msc Finance- 2018- 3.93./5. I am a qualified accountant with like 10 years experience. I scored Q-161 V-143 AW3 304 from gre. Though I am hoping to write gmat exam. However, I have no publication. Is my chance of getting Phd Economics, Finance or Accounting that good without publication?

GreatMage:
Feeling discouraged already....

Maybe I will just settle for msc?

Afterall, quora said IT and engineering students don't really need PhD.

Thanks.

Settle for where your passions lie and what gets you the best ROI in your career growth. Quora is still the opinion of people, so what anyone writes there isn't yes and Amen.
Feeling discouraged? There's actually no limit to what we can achieve if only we don't set boundaries.

knoph2007:
Good day all,

I am a prospective applicant for Fall 2022 Phd. I have ND-Upper credit, HND-Upper credit, Bsc-4.19/5 all Accounting and Msc Finance- 2018- 3.93./5. I am a qualified accountant with like 10 years experience. I scored Q-161 V-143 AW3 304 from gre. Though I am hoping to write gmat exam. However, I have no publication. Is my chance of getting Phd Economics, Finance or Accounting that good without publication?

I'm sure you need no telling that you have a good profile. As regards the publication, you have an Msc, I'm sure you must have a written a thesis during the duration of your program. Why not publish that? You still have ample time - fall 2022.
If you can pad that publication up with your already existing profile, then maybe take the TOEFL also.

Apply to lot of schools to spread your risk, then with these you have huge chance of getting your desire.

TWoods:
So basically you don't want to go to school, you're simply shopping around to see what gets you a visa.

Thank you

Thanks

NigPatriot:
I'm sure you need no telling that you have a good profile. As regards the publication, you have an Msc, I'm sure you must have a written a thesis during the duration of your program. Why not publish that? You still have ample time - fall 2022.
If you can pad that publication up with your already existing profile, then maybe take the TOEFL also.

Apply to lot of schools to spread your risk, then with these you have huge chance of getting your desire.

knoph2007:
Good day all,

I am a prospective applicant for Fall 2022 Phd. I have ND-Upper credit, HND-Upper credit, Bsc-4.19/5 all Accounting and Msc Finance- 2018- 3.93./5. I am a qualified accountant with like 10 years experience. I scored Q-161 V-143 AW3 304 from gre. Though I am hoping to write gmat exam. However, I have no publication. Is my chance of getting Phd Economics, Finance or Accounting that good without publication?

You don't need any publication. In my view, you have a stellar resume (as long as you ace the GMAT). 10 years of experience as a qualified accountant is more than most applicants to your program can bring to the table. As part of your application, I would write a detailed statement of purpose, describing your work experience (any key highlights, certifications, memberships, any work outside Nigeria), and why the Ph.D. is important in your career progression. Many Ph.D. programs are looking for applicants with the types of practical skills you bring, not so much how many publications you have. You'll be writing plenty of that once you start your Ph.D. program.

Fredony:
Please, i haven't seen any email yet. Just reach out oritsemeremiamujikunanthony@gmail.com

Memorizing this email is a degree program on its own.