Hello gurus in d house,my name is Taiwo Ojo. I graduated from Federal university of technology Akure and what we use is CGPA. Our GPA is based on a semester and at the end of a session it becomes CGPA. I don't understand d GPA u guys are talking about is it based on d whole 4 or 5 years in d university or based on d last semester before graduation please I need answers somebody should please enlighten me.

tiwowo:
Hello gurus in d house,my name is Taiwo Ojo. I graduated from Federal university of technology Akure and what we use is CGPA. Our GPA is based on a semester and at the end of a session it becomes CGPA. I don't understand d GPA u guys are talking about is it based on d whole 4 or 5 years in d university or based on d last semester before graduation please I need answers somebody should please enlighten me.

From what have gained here, instead of using cgpa in USA they are using GPA which is on a scale of 4.0. So you will have to convert your result from cgpa 5.0 to GPA 4.0

.

sirRiddy:
Hi neahyo,
Welcome to the thread and to this beautiful journey.
Congratulations on your graduation.
You have an enviable GPA that can get you into top choice PhD programs.
I am aware of the financial challenge that one encounters during this
process, hence you have to be shrewd and prudent in your approach.
Do not apply to a program if you have not done your research exhaustively
on this program. I wasted time and money on Utah State University when I found
out later that they only waive out-of-state and I still had to pay in-state tuition.
This means I wasted time and cash on sending transcripts, test scores, letters.
Use google and usnews to your advantage. SEARCHING FOR SCHOOLS TAKES TIME, A LOT.
Prepare hard for the GRE and get impressive letters from school.
Before you apply, be sure that your prospective schools do not require the
GRE subject test, GRE Mathematics test in your case.
Good luck. Please, post further questions if you have any.

Thank you very much!
I'm on the look out for average schools [sic], If you don't mind can you please compile a list of schools that give GA/TA?

Cephas0009:


Congratulations in advance for your convocation n for a job weldone as an undergraduate. It's good you have started preparing already. M sure u must av observed dis thread offers assistance basically for persons considering graduate studies in US n more importantly to guide persons intending to take d GRE. Studying in Canada from d little I know, u don't need GRE n Test of English (Toefl or IELTS) is exempted in some cases. So if u are able to put up a good SOP and get a professor dat u can work with prior to ur application, den the only thing u might av to worry about is d application fee. The chances are high u will get assistantship with ur profile. Same thing applies 4 US schools too except that now u will av to take both Test of English n GRE (which cost approximately 100k with d present exchange rate), n with a good sop n recommendation letter, it's kindof easy getting funding considering u also intend to apply directly 4 phd, 4low every other thing d great men in dis group av said n m sure u will b rightly guided. I hope dis helps a little

Many thanks!
It helped a lot.

SirRiddy asides from the view scores link on the gre website, how can you view your awa performance, and know how you arrived at your average score, because score I see no be for here oooooooh

Thanks @ battoyyeb,now I understand

Hi! Please can some send me a copy of GRE test preparation kit. I am trying to prepare to write the test in say 2/3months. My email:

grisham_chris@yahoo.com.

Thank you.

ponpon:
SirRiddy asides from the view scores link on the gre website, how can you view your awa performance, and know how you arrived at your average score, because score I see no be for here oooooooh

you can't view individual segment scores. The AWA given only shows the average of both issue and argument based tasks.

Thanks essayhelp I didn't even look up to check who replied, egbon mi, I appreciate... Bless up sir

Hi. Good to know you had 4, very good score.
However, you should credit essayhelp who answered your question and not me.
Good luck!

ponpon:
Thanks baba mi sirRiddy.... I got a 4,so I wanted to know I performed, I didn't conclude my lengthy argument and I my issues point were just 2 with many senrenre points and it wasn't that lengthy

Lol. That sounds like a full-time job you have for me there. How much will you pay me per hour?
On a lighter note, please do not take this kind of mentality beyond here.
There are so many schools in America and I believe you have more than enough
guidance already on how to find the ones that suit you. Asking for a list sounds pretty lazy.
Use usnews.com for a start. If you do not search yourself, you risk making costly mistakes.

neahyo:


Thank you very much sir!
I'm on the look out for average schools [sic], If you don't mind can you please compile a list of schools that give GA/TA?

sirRiddy:
Lol. That sounds like a full-time job you have for me there. How much will you pay me per hour?
On a lighter note, please do not take this kind of mentality beyond here.
There are so many schools in America and I believe you have more than enough
guidance already on how to find the ones that suit you. Asking for a list sounds pretty lazy.
Use usnews.com for a start. If you do not search yourself, you risk making costly mistakes.

Lol.
Yeah I perfectly understand. I've compiled a list as well, but it's just that i want to widen my options. Well, a Nigerian adage says "If you want something best done, do it yourself"

Million thanks........

Please add me on the fbk group @ Ojo taiwo Olowoyo on fbk.Is not easy reading for this Gre oooo,am a mother of three nd is not easy at all reading with taking care of the children. I intend sitting for the exam next year but my husband is saying I should sit for it this August and I don't want to sit for the exam and fail. I really need help from all the gurus on this page,any useful materials nd information on the best way to study.i am not really a math person and am not finding the AWA funny at all. I really need all ur helps for a sister not to fail. My email address is :oluwatosinolowoyo@gmail.com .sirRiddy, Danjanija et al a sister need ur helps.

Hi all, thanks for the very helpful insights on preparing, registering, and writing the gre. Please add me to the Facebook group..... mitchel4christ@yahoo.co.uk

Good morning house, this message is directed to all the 'egbons' 'bros' on this platform.

This page has been really helpful and has kept a lot of us on track, from preparation to application, and other stuff, but we need some things clearly defined, explained or highlighted If it's with a 4 or 5 paragraph post.

1. How to search for schools, danjaninja said he would post this, I have been waiting on it and I'm still waiting.
2. How to know how affordable enrolling in a school is and how to estimate their assistance or scholarship
3. Difference between in-state tuition and out-state tuition and how they apply.
4. A chronological guide from the Gre and TOEFL e.g (gre-application-mailing-transcript) and a guide on statement of purpose / intent.
5. The estimated amount one should sought for after getting admitted to a school and general finance bants.

You guys should leave men hanging after taking the gre.

Thanks cc danjaninja, sirRiddy ati be be lo

ponpon:
Good morning house, this message is directed to all the 'egbons' 'bros' on this platform.

This page has been really helpful and has kept a lot of us on track, from preparation to application, and other stuff, but we need some things clearly defined, explained or highlighted If it's with a 4 or 5 paragraph post.

1. How to search for schools, danjaninja said he would post this, I have been waiting on it and I'm still waiting.
2. How to know how affordable enrolling in a school is and how to estimate their assistance or scholarship
3. Difference between in-state tuition and out-state tuition and how they apply.
4. A chronological guide from the Gre and TOEFL e.g (gre-application-mailing-transcript) and a guide on statement of purpose / intent.
5. The estimated amount one should sought for after getting admitted to a school and general finance bants.

You guys should leave men hanging after taking the gre.

Thanks cc danjaninja, sirRiddy ati be be lo

I concur, the 'egbons' in the house, kindly do justice to the above points

And transcripts, evaluation of results and sending of transcripts, the most economical way. For example unilag 2,500 for transcript, 10k to send to us, and that should be to one school I guess.

Please shine your light of experience on us

Ponpon, hi.
There is nothing like any egbon here. You have a more recent idea of how
the GRE works than either myself, danja and many others since you wrote
it recently and did well.
As regards your questions, these are my thoughts. Please verify anything I write
here as they are just my perspective based on my experience and your
experience and needs might be different.

1.School search is tasking.
I started searching for schools even before I started my
GRE prep in August 2014. Things that should be considered while searching for
schools are your GPA, funding priority (some can fund themselves, some
cannot leave Nigeria if they do not get full funding, others are okay with
half tuition-waiver), your interests (does the program offer the specialization
you are interested in?), if the school is research-based or not (I found a
school in Tennessee that looked decent but the grad coordinator told me that
if PhD is what I want to do in the future, this may not be the right place for me).

I shortlisted some nice schools because I loved their programs but many were not
possible for me given my situation of 'funding of nothing'. UMD CP was a place
I liked a lot but could not even consider, given my mediocre GPA. The best way to know the
funding situation of a school is to either check the website or email the grad
coordinator. However, some grad coordinators are crooks. One led me to believe
that almost all their students are funded and I applied there. I later found
out from a friend (PhD student) that went there who told the real scenario. Yes,
many students are funded in the school but the CS department is in some financial
mess and so, funding is low. He was able to get just partial funding even as a
PhD student.

PhD students get funded more than MS students. MS is a professional degree that
adds no value to the department but to the student. You graduate, get a job and
start earning morning. In a PhD program, students are paid paltry amount to help
department conduct research and do some boring tasks like grading scripts and administering
labs, tasks that professors actualy loathe. So, PhD students are more valuable to
programs than MS. If you have a high GPA, apply to PhD programs. They are harder
to get into, but if you do, you can leave in two years after you get your MS.
That being said, many MS students get funding but most that I see actually have
very good profiles, apply to many schools and are very lucky.

While shortlisting schools, it is better to spread your risks. Do not apply to
just top 50 programs. It is good to have safe schools that you will not mind
attending if the worst situation occurs. I applied to three programs in the
top 100 and five safe schools. Also, look out for places with low cost of living
like the South and Mid-West states.

Your second question is not very clear but I will try as much as I can to answer it.
To know how affordable enrolling in a school is, you just need to contact the
graduate school and ask them the questions. Tuition in my program is about
18, 000 dollars per year. This excludes housing, utility bills (water, light, gas,
trash, internet/cable tv), Room and Board, health insurance. etc. which cost 12 000 dollars.
It is this cheap because it is in a low cost state in the US, places like Pennsylvania, California,
New York will cost far more.
Private schools are expensive, especially high ranked ones. Some public and state
schools are expensive as well. A friend that graduated from UMD CP (sorry I refer to
this school a lot, it is a dream school) told me that tuition alone is about 30, 000 dollars.

The best people to ask these questions about schools you are interested in are the graduate school
and maybe the grad coordinator.

Assistantships usually cover the full tuition if it is full. You work 20 hours per week, you do not pay any tuition.
Sometimes, it can be half, this means you work 10 hours per week.
The immigration law allows international students to work for a maximum of 20 hours per week and only on campus.
Assistantships usually pay stipends too. I have seen people earn as low as 1, 000 dollars and as high as 2, 700 dollars.
Some assistantships cover health insurance, others don't. Some assistantships last for 10 months, others 12.
Assistantships can either be teaching assistantship, research assistantship or administrative assistantship.
Some assistantship may even exist outside of your department like in the Graduate school, residence halls or Diversity Unit.
A more competitive form of funding is Fellowship. This is like an assistantship except that you do not work for
the tuition that is being waived or the stipends you receive. They are given to the most competitive applicants
in the program.
Most assistantships are renewed after a year.

There are also on-campus jobs but you need Social Security Number (SSN) to get these ones. These ones do not waive tuition.
Not only schools have lots of on-campus jobs. You can only do on-campus jobs for a maximum of 20 hours per week.

In-state tuition is paid by students who are residents of the state.
It is believed that for them to be residing in the state, they have been paying
tax to the state and so it is their money that is being used to run the state-owned school.
Out-of-state tuition is paid by students from other parts of the country and
international students.
In-state is usually half or one-third of out-of-state. If out-of-state is waived for
you, this means you have to pay in-state tutition.

It is pertinent to be sure that your assistantship waives the whole tuition and not just out-of-state tuition.

For GRE prep, there are enough guide here written by past test takers. Mine is on page 60-something, I think.
Test takers have been encouraged to post their experiences too. Those that have posted theirs
are highly appreciated, others are encouraged to please post theirs too.
On the GRE facebook group, so many great experiences are there that can change the course of your prep.

To tell the truth, TOEFL is a piece of cake. I am not saying you should not prepare adequately for the test,
but anything less than a 100 on the test is a no-no.

For transcripts, one tip is that do not just rush to your transcripts office to ask for transcripts especially
in this harsh economical times. Ask your program if they accept unofficial transcripts, many do. If they do,
just scan your student copy of your transcripts and send to the program. If you finally attend the school, you
leave Nigeria with the official transcripts sealed or even send it to them.

For statement of purpose, you need a lot of time and input from people who have been through the application process.
Write your statement, let people read and make comments and edit the ones you agree with.
I used a book that was useful to me during the phase. It is titled "How to Write a Winning Personal Statement for Graduate
amd Professional School" Third Edition by Richard Stelzer.

After getting admission and a GA,
you would need cash for:
1. getting i-20, if your school does not cover the cost. 100 dollars
2. SEVIS fee. 200 dollars plus 10 dollars payment charges
3. Visa application fee. I paid 31 200 naira but heard it might change soon.
4. Flight ticket. This cost me about 250, 000 naira. It can slightly lower or higher
depending on how quick you book it.
5. Cash to be spent for the first month or so before you start receiving stipends.
This depends on you, maybe 1, 500 dollars or more.
6. Cash to buy 'igba ati awo'. I mean stuffs like clothes, food and so on that you will
carry to school.

I think you should not bother much about all these for now. The most important thing is to
get that good admission and a GA at least. Then there will be ginger to proceed. Also, I have
never seen a funded MS or PhD being denied visa at the embassy. Keep pushing hard, Good luck!

SirRiddy..kudos to you for your illuminating responses. Indeed you are a top PhD student. I just want to ask if a GRE score of 307 without writing TOEFL and high CGPA can secure a PhD GA for Biological Sciences.

SirRiddy burst all my available thinking, you all should put page 86 to your archive, saving it on my desktop like I saved page 0...

Thanks brother man!!!... I'm considering PhD man, but then I would like to be accustomed to genuine research unlike what we do here, because my field is thoroughly research based.

Hi. You are welcome, thanks for the kind words.
As for your question, it would depend on your GPA, the school requirements and
the competitiveness of the program. For PhD admission, you need a high GPA. Good luck.

Perotti:
SirRiddy..kudos to you for your illuminating responses. Indeed you are a top PhD student. I just want to ask if a GRE score of 307 without writing TOEFL and high CGPA can secure a PhD GA for Biological Sciences.

ponpon you should go for it. You have a good GPA.
Spread your risks, apply early, all the best.

Please someone should please add me to the group
battoyyeb@yahoo.com

Also someone should help with the magoosh videos
Please help a brother

SirRiddy u just killed it! I have learnt alot about Grad school study by reading thru different websites n forums! But this information here summaries everything I have come to understand in the last 6 months! This man is a researcher and what makes me mad is that he knows how to express himself in such fluent way! Your brain should be used instead of Google whenever it comes to Grad anything! God bless you bro! Screenshotzzzzz!

sirRiddy:
Hi. You are welcome, thanks for the kind words.
As for your question, it would depend on your GPA, the school requirements and
the competitiveness of the program. For PhD admission, you need a high GPA. Good luck.

Thank you sir

https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-write-the-first-email-to-a-professor-that-may-accept-me-as-his-graduate-student
cc ponpon

SirRiddy thanks man, I've been on Quora.com since last night after you posted about the book, I haven't gotten it yet, but I saw useful topics and the one you posted was the bomb.

Can you paste the link of the book here?