₦airaland Forum

Time2Smile:
I guess that is it from me for this application season.

I have been accepted to the Molecular and Cell Biology PhD program of The University of Texas at Dallas with a Graduate Tuition Scholarship that covers all tuition and fees. In addition, I will receive a very generous stipend through Graduate Teaching Assistantship.

I only contacted the Graduate coordinator on April 14 and submitted my application on May 1st when the schools were trying to play cello with my future.

I appreciate everyone that has been asking after my application status. It has been arduous, but the difficulty pales in comparison to the sweet taste of success. For those still expecting a decision, don't lose hope. #TeamFall2017 Yes we can.

seeker88:
Hello Family, it's been a journey.. .

This is an update from me. Just wanna give a recap of my graduate school application journey so far. A prospective applicant may pick something from this.

I applied to as many schools as I could, not because I was confused but because I earnestly wanted funding as graduate study in d US would be impossible for me without any sort of funding. Also, as my intention was to switch from Petroleum Engineering to Mechanical Engineering, I needed to reach out to as many schools as I could afford.
So I finally applied to 11 schools, got 5 admits, 5 rejections and 1 pending. Find below the decision from each of the schools:

Rejects :
1. Texas A&M University College Station (no reason)
2. Georgia Tech (Waitlisted and eventually rejected)
3. Louisiana State University (no reason)
4. Wichita State University (reason was that I didn't have enough prerequisite courses to get a slot in their MSc Mechanical Engineering Program). Meanwhile, I counted this school as a safe school.
5. Ohio University (same reason as Wichita State)

Admits
1. Texas A&M University Kingsville
2. Florida A&M University/Florida State University
3. Wright State University
4. University of Louisiana Lafayette
5. South Dakota State University

Pending
1. University of Arkansas

In all, I didn't get FULL funding from any of the admits as really desired. However, the offer from TAMUK became my best choice.

Then the schools that lured me into applying with their application fee waiver all rejected my application. They include Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst and Wayne State Uni. I didn't loose out though cos I didn't spend a dime applying to them.

Application Profile
*Bachelor: Petroleum Engineering
*UG CGPA: 4.23 (3.57 by WES evaluation)
*GRE: 154Q, 151V, 4.0
*TOEFL : 91
*2 academic recommendations and 1 professional recommendation.
*3+ years work experience (not in closely related field)
*No research experience
*All applications was for MSc Mechanical Engineering

My Observation
*Apply as early as you can. If possible, submit ur applications before d priority deadline. In my own case, I submitted almost all my applications in Dec '16, but d major challenge was getting my recommenders to have their recommendation submitted, especially the academic ones. Some recommendations were received as late as 3months after application submission. So it's necessary to ascertain the availability of your recommenders before using them.
*You can't be very sure of your "safe schools", so spread your tentacles and apply to as many schools especially the ones that require all materials to be uploaded online with your application. You never can tell which would come through.

Choi, I don talk too much already....
I wish everyone all d best. Cheers!

Time2Smile:
I am really smitten by everyone's good wishes, Thank you all. I have a lot to share which I would do in due time. Congratulations to seeker88 and Ndawe.

Ndawe's story is particularly sweet, I think she came here initially looking to rewrite the GRE, now she has 2 funded offers using her previous scores. It shows the power of information and threads like this.(Shout out to Oludare01). I hope we all continue contributing.

I just hope Scholastica16 would post his success story soon, we started this together and the thread is better with with him on board.

Toakins:
@Time2smile, I have been waiting patiently for your good news. Thank God! Congrats bro!!!
@Ndawe and @seeker,Congratulations!!! God bless your new journey.

OluDare01:
What year did you finish your MSc?

miella:
Congrats madam!

Wishing you the best!

happyday:
Congrats on your admissions and offer! I'm happy you made your decision already. That was one heck of a journey! Schools would overlook your lack of research experience, sometimes GPA, but it seems they're unforgiving about grad school prerequisites. I see you were willing to do anything at all to get into MechE!!

Which begs the question, why Mech Engr?? Especially coming from PetE.

Cheers!

tolutweety:
All the best, Seeker88.
Good luck in your endeavors.

seeker88:
Thanks a lot boss! You really inspired me. As at October when I wrote my GRE, I never had Mech Engr in mind, I wanted something closer to my current job: Engineering Management which is what I chose during my GRE. I after my GRE, I got discouraged with d course and made up my mind to go for Mech Engr after some pieces of advice from friends. Also, after reading DrHopeful profile on how she switched from Pet Engr to Materials Engr, I knew I could achieve my dreams of getting into a masters program in Mech Engr. Every single person here has been a source of motivation in one way or d other.

Your post especially, concerning my case then further pushed me to make more research on what I really wanted. That was when I had to start checking so many stuffs online and eventually wrote my SOP. It took me a while and that was why I submitted most of my applications not too early enough (Dec) even though I wrote my GRE in Oct.
I'm really grateful to my boss cutemorgan who really took his time amidst his busy schedule to fine tune my SOP. We analysed each paragraph of d SOP together .....he actually took the SOP as his , he's such a great man!

Then, why I eventually went for Mech Engr even though I did Pet Engr in my UG is because I feel that d era of petroleum is gradually phasing out and also d fact that Pet considers mainly the non-renewable energy sources (ie, crude oil n natural gas) which makes it more streamlined . I still have interest in energy though, and that was why I applied to schools with options in renewable energy systems in their Msc MechEngr. I know it's gonna be a tough one doing mech engr without mech engr in my UG, but I believe with God and with the motivations of the wonderful peeps here, I will scale through.

Surprisingly, TAMUK actually found me deficient in 9 credit hours of MechEngr UG courses and still gave me their scholarship and out-of-state tuition waiver.. ....it can only be God. I'm so grateful to HIM.

Thanks again to all of your here for being a source of motivation for me. I hope to meet some of you someday. See you at d top.

seeker88:
Thanks a lot boss! You really inspired me. As at October when I wrote my GRE, I never had Mech Engr in mind, I wanted something closer to my current job: Engineering Management which is what I chose during my GRE. I after my GRE, I got discouraged with d course and made up my mind to go for Mech Engr after some pieces of advice from friends. Also, after reading DrHopeful profile on how she switched from Pet Engr to Materials Engr, I knew I could achieve my dreams of getting into a masters program in Mech Engr. Every single person here has been a source of motivation in one way or d other.

Your post especially, concerning my case then further pushed me to make more research on what I really wanted. That was when I had to start checking so many stuffs online and eventually wrote my SOP. It took me a while and that was why I submitted most of my applications not too early enough (Dec) even though I wrote my GRE in Oct.
I'm really grateful to my boss cutemorgan who really took his time amidst his busy schedule to fine tune my SOP. We analysed each paragraph of d SOP together .....he actually took the SOP as his , he's such a great man!

Then, why I eventually went for Mech Engr even though I did Pet Engr in my UG is because I feel that d era of petroleum is gradually phasing out and also d fact that Pet considers mainly the non-renewable energy sources (ie, crude oil n natural gas) which makes it more streamlined . I still have interest in energy though, and that was why I applied to schools with options in renewable energy systems in their Msc MechEngr. I know it's gonna be a tough one doing mech engr without mech engr in my UG, but I believe with God and with the motivations of the wonderful peeps here, I will scale through.

Surprisingly, TAMUK actually found me deficient in 9 credit hours of MechEngr UG courses and still gave me their scholarship and out-of-state tuition waiver.. ....it can only be God. I'm so grateful to HIM.

Thanks again to all of your here for being a source of motivation for me. I hope to meet some of you someday. See you at d top.

sheeda995:
Good afternoon everyone, I am a US school seeker, I registered for GRE, but unfortunately I couldn't make it on my test date, so I was automatically disqualified from writing the GRE test, now I am planning to re register, but am having problem with course to even applied for because I am very confused. Right now, I am doing my MSC, so I am hoping to apply for a PHD. As I don't currently like my course of study, I am hoping I could change department, but the issue of doing a STEM course hopped in. Write now, as always I am depressed, because I don't know where to start from. My main problem I guess is what course to apply for, what is the probability of staying in the US after the course. I need a course I will be happy doing and as well a course with future prospect, I have googled and googled, and reading GRE together with MSC is as well challenging, I have tried to look for someone in my shoe for motivation but haven't found any

Time2Smile:
It is a long process so please you don't need to be depressed, You would need all the energy you can muster for the journey ahead.

Let start with this:
What did you study in your undergraduate and what was your GPA?
What are you studying in MSc?
Which course would you rather be studying?
I think the answers to these questions would inform the way you are going to proceed.

sheeda995:
Good afternoon everyone, I am a US school seeker, I registered for GRE, but unfortunately I couldn't make it on my test date, so I was automatically disqualified from writing the GRE test, now I am planning to re register, but am having problem with course to even applied for because I am very confused. Right now, I am doing my MSC, so I am hoping to apply for a PHD. As I don't currently like my course of study, I am hoping I could change department, but the issue of doing a STEM course hopped in. Write now, as always I am depressed, because I don't know where to start from. My main problem I guess is what course to apply for, what is the probability of staying in the US after the course. I need a course I will be happy doing and as well a course with future prospect, I have googled and googled, and reading GRE together with MSC is as well challenging, I have tried to look for someone in my shoe for motivation but haven't found any

sheeda995:
Undergraduate: Health Science Edu
GPA: 4.49
MSC: School & community Health Edu
what course would I be rather studying: Public health

seeker88:
Hello Family, it's been a journey.. .

This is an update from me. Just wanna give a recap of my graduate school application journey so far. A prospective applicant may pick something from this.

I applied to as many schools as I could, not because I was confused but because I earnestly wanted funding as graduate study in d US would be impossible for me without any sort of funding. Also, as my intention was to switch from Petroleum Engineering to Mechanical Engineering, I needed to reach out to as many schools as I could afford.
So I finally applied to 11 schools, got 5 admits, 5 rejections and 1 pending. Find below the decision from each of the schools:

Rejects :
1. Texas A&M University College Station (no reason)
2. Georgia Tech (Waitlisted and eventually rejected)
3. Louisiana State University (no reason)
4. Wichita State University (reason was that I didn't have enough prerequisite courses to get a slot in their MSc Mechanical Engineering Program). Meanwhile, I counted this school as a safe school.
5. Ohio University (same reason as Wichita State)

Admits
1. Texas A&M University Kingsville
2. Florida A&M University/Florida State University
3. Wright State University
4. University of Louisiana Lafayette
5. South Dakota State University

Pending
1. University of Arkansas

In all, I didn't get FULL funding from any of the admits as really desired. However, the offer from TAMUK became my best choice.

Then the schools that lured me into applying with their application fee waiver all rejected my application. They include Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst and Wayne State Uni. I didn't loose out though cos I didn't spend a dime applying to them.

Application Profile
*Bachelor: Petroleum Engineering
*UG CGPA: 4.23 (3.57 by WES evaluation)
*GRE: 154Q, 151V, 4.0
*TOEFL : 91
*2 academic recommendations and 1 professional recommendation.
*3+ years work experience (not in closely related field)
*No research experience
*All applications was for MSc Mechanical Engineering

My Observation
*Apply as early as you can. If possible, submit ur applications before d priority deadline. In my own case, I submitted almost all my applications in Dec '16, but d major challenge was getting my recommenders to have their recommendation submitted, especially the academic ones. Some recommendations were received as late as 3months after application submission. So it's necessary to ascertain the availability of your recommenders before using them.
*You can't be very sure of your "safe schools", so spread your tentacles and apply to as many schools especially the ones that require all materials to be uploaded online with your application. You never can tell which would come through.

Choi, I don talk too much already....
I wish everyone all d best. Cheers!

Fatezee:
Hi guys, Pls am I allowed to take in calculator during GRE exam??

MasterforceII:
No you aren't. You make use of an on screen calculator. Start getting used to solving math questions without calculators. It would really help.

Fatezee:
Thanks for the info.. I Just started studying for it n wanted to be sure.

MasterforceII:
Okay. Cool. When do you plan to write and what texts are you using?

sheeda995:
Undergraduate: Health Science Edu
GPA: 4.49
MSC: School & community Health Edu
what course would I be rather studying: Public health

ayopaul84:
Congratulations to those who have been given admission.

Please i am planning for Fall 2018. I need your advice pls. Esp @Time2Smile and the host of others.

My profile is as below:

Intending course of study: Cellular/Molecular Biology and Genetics (PhD)
Degrees obtained already: MSc, BSc (Biochemistry)
BSc GPA: 4.50
MSc GPA: 4.35 (messed up)
GRE and TOEFL: In view
(Preparation on going)
Experience: About 2 years as a Graduate Assistant (would most likely be an Assistant Lecturer before submitting my application.

The following are the schools I came up with after surfing the net.

Michigan State University
University of Delaware
University of Kentucky
Wayne State University
University of Texas, Dallas
Middle Tennessee State University (in no particular order of preference).

My enquiries:
1.Pls the gurus in the house should help me peruse the above list and give a sincere critique vis a vis my profile.

2. I need suggestions on SAFE schools for my profile (esp. schools that allow upload of unofficial transcript).

3. Anyone on the thread with a similar ambition or had a similar ambition and went through (currently running PhD program) should pls indicate for a personal chat including Mr Time2Smile.

Thanks and God bless you.

Time2Smile:
I would reply your Pm but I want to post it here for the benefit of everyone ; One of the things I learnt during this application season is importance of research experience for Phd admission in life sciences and recommendation letters from your research supervisors.

So I would ask you; Any publication.? What about current research activities?

ayopaul84:
Congratulations to those who have been given admission.

Please i am planning for Fall 2018. I need your advice pls. Esp @Time2Smile and the host of others.

My profile is as below:

Intending course of study: Cellular/Molecular Biology and Genetics (PhD)
Degrees obtained already: MSc, BSc (Biochemistry)
BSc GPA: 4.50
MSc GPA: 4.35 (messed up)
GRE and TOEFL: In view
(Preparation on going)
Experience: About 2 years as a Graduate Assistant (would most likely be an Assistant Lecturer before submitting my application.

The following are the schools I came up with after surfing the net.

Michigan State University
University of Delaware
University of Kentucky
Wayne State University
University of Texas, Dallas
Middle Tennessee State University (in no particular order of preference).

My enquiries:
1.Pls the gurus in the house should help me peruse the above list and give a sincere critique vis a vis my profile.

2. I need suggestions on SAFE schools for my profile (esp. schools that allow upload of unofficial transcript).

3. Anyone on the thread with a similar ambition or had a similar ambition and went through (currently running PhD program) should pls indicate for a personal chat including Mr Time2Smile.

Thanks and God bless you.

MasterforceII:
Good day Mr. Seeker. First and foremost, congratulations on your admits. Your journey is an inspiring one. Thanks for sharing with we prospective applicants. You really applied to 11 schools? Wow. That's a lot of money spent on application fees et al which some of us may not have the luxury of. A major dilema we (prospective applicants) face is selecting schools where the prspect of admission and funding is nearly certain. .Although most of the research is done by the applicant themselves, stuff like what you have just done goes a long way in aiding that process. This is kind of what @RexChaeng was campaigning for some pages back. I really hope some others here take a cue from you. Infact, i hope to do same once I have been admitted.

Looking at your profile, two things caught my attention and that is your change in majors and your GRE score is not so stellar. Yet, you shot at schools like TAMU College Station and Georgia Tech for which you were waitlisted even though the admission didn't eventually come. I admire your intrepidity. People on this Nairaland rarely apply to these top schools. Maybe only a few do. I understand that most of us apply to schools within the reach of their profile to avoid stories that touch but seeing that GeorgiaTech on that your list has sort of reinvigorated my ginger. Lol. Nigerians get admitted to these schools afterall. Maybe they just arent on Nairaland to share their stories/profiles.

Thanks once again. Goodluck in all your endeavors.

seeker88:
Thanks a lot. I'm glad u got inspired by this experience shared.

Yes, I applied to 11 schools. For most of the schools, I paid just d application fee and didn't need to send official transcript or test scores for my application to be evaluated . Also, I applied to schools with low application fee in d range of $30-$55 in order to reachmore schools. However, app fee was high for TAMU, Georgia Tech and LSU, it was $90, $75, and $70 respectively. So you may not necessarily spend on sending transcript and test scores to each school u applied to for your application to be evaluated. It totally depends on your choice of school though.

I don't know about schools where u can be very sure of getting funded. Funding situation in schools changes from time to time. Even some schools that you may see a s a safe school may end up rejecting your application. So u can't be very certain of anything. Nevertheless, you may use usnews.com to check the research grants to some schools, d higher the research grant, d more likely they are to release funding to students.

Yes, despite my low scores, I still gave Tamu and Gatech application a shot. However, if your profile isn't competitive like mine, do this only if u have some cash to spare and have applied to some safe schools though. I thought of retaking d test to improve on my scores for better funding opportunities but there was no time as I needed to meet up with fall '17.

People here have applied to top schools like PennState Uni, UCBerkely, UT Austin and the likes and got in, they are just very few though.