₦airaland Forum

stolid:
Your GPA, or rather your friend's GPA is minute. I don't think you said the truth about finishing with 2:2. A 2:2 translates to nothing less than a 2.5/5.0, if my memory serves me right. On a 4.0 scale, it shouldn't be as low as a 2.25 of 4.00. Pardon me if I'm rude, but you need to come out clean if you really need help. Admittedly, there are lots of gullible Nigerians that could buy your "my friend" story, but you won't find them here.

Great analysis Stolid!
Naija and Honesty, two big enemies! Sometimes I am forced to think that we will never move this country forward if we keep wanting cheap things at any cost.
I must say that, before I joined this thread I was reluctant to give out information that I considered sensitive about myself..... But I decided to read through some of the previous posts and found valuable info that showed logical consistency and were experientially relevant.....

What I am saying in essence is that I appreciate every contribution on this thread (I mean everything posted by everyone) and I am not reluctant to ask any question that I consider pressing on my mind because I can trust people here.

So I wonder why wine4guy will choose to be dishonest when dealing with people who are willing to help him/her.

Additionally, this is for people like me still seeking admission and visa:
Honestly I am thrilled at how people who already have started their studies give regular meaning contributions to this thread without being paid by anyone or having nothing to gain from an anxious applicant who need vital info

amanze15:
i seek permission to withdraw such generic. Just a singled out experience shared with grad students at a workshop.

Amanze, godG, bbbdd and imperioux I must thank you for the clarification.

I was almost getting the impression that besides a good source of offsetting tuition costs and other relevant bills, TA seems to have its bad sides as well.

But come to think of it, How nice will it be to see your students give positive feedback to you on how you were influential to your success!

amanze15:
It's different for alot of schools, For instance, in the "flagships" all you can do as a GTA or TA is take lab classes as a master's student, or grad assignments, or rather take undergrad classes. But the screening procedures have gotten alot stiffer, lots of seminars, lots of training because all those small pickins wey never travel out of there "village" go set u up for thier failure

Thank you Amanze. Allow me to ask this:
What is/are the TA role(s) for a PhD student?
And abeg why 'oyibo pikin' go want set TA holder up for their own failure?

Imperioux and godG, Great answer!

So that means it is no risk ticking all options?
Permit me to ask a follow up question:

I like your description of the TA role: Grading. Is that how it is in all the graduate schools in US?

[quote author=imperiouxx post=43070538]Like godG said, don't worry yourself too much. You can't do all at the same time.

Hmm!
Strong piercing words but true.
Thanks for the advice.

bbdd:
godG MsNas

I think a fundamental piece of the puzzle being left out of this funding debate is the actual credibility and INTELLECTUAL CAPACITY of the said person seeking funding

To future applicants,
No school in the US is going to go all out to fund you if you don't show a very good intellectual capability. That goes without saying. Your test scores have to be good and every other aspect of your application has to be great as well.
Also, ability to carry out research is important.I can say this most guys on nairaland who got funding didn't get their schools by typing "SUGGEST SCHOOLS FOR ME" here on nairaland. They actually went online and did some good research which pretty much forms the basis of a good graduate career. Ability to do research.

Also research your school!, check the weather(There are tons of apps to do this), diversity(if you care about that), cost of living, tuition fees. No one on nairaland can help you unless they are in the same school which is not so common.

Also, funding opportunities are most times given by the DEPARTMENT /PROGRAM and not as a school wide decision. Get in touch with the program chairs of the department you wish to apply to , write them an email. This is the first step.

If you need any help along the way, there are lots of guys here to give you a helping hand. Be it with SOP or logistics or just good ol' advice but please be capable of doing some research on schools and make sure you ace your standardized tests.

Bests to all applicants.

So much inspiration and motivation to draw from your story. Thanks for taking your time to be succinct and honest.
I wished I had an answer. But I am also a fresh applicant still seeking admission and funding.

I hope the lovely Guys here can help you out. Good luck!

cuteconnec:
Dear Friends and Gurus,

I urgently need help with a candid advice. i have not really been following this tread but i bow for gurus here.

I started applying for USA graduate schools in Oct 2015. I wanted to resume in Jan 2016-Spring, so i only targeted schools with very late application deadlines.

I did all the GRE, TOEFL and VISA interview stuffs and succeeded getting admission in 3 schools.
1. UALR- University of Arkansas at Little Rock - Phd (Integrated computing)
2. SIUE- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville - MSc (computer science)
3. UNO - University of Nebraska, Omaha - Msc (Management Information Systems-MIS)



The decision from UALR came so quick so i presented their i20 at the embassy and got the visa. Though i preferred the MIS course at UNO, but they did not decide on time. I Applied for funding in UALR but didn't get anything. Also some old naija folks at the school strongly discouraged me from coming..Finally, my admission at UNO clicked on Jan 6, I got into US on Jan 8th and decided to transfer from UALR to UNO. The transfer went pretty easy and i flew to Omaha.

On arriving here, i discovered the situation here was worse than i ever imagine, even though i got the course i wanted to study, i couldn't get any funding, tuition is very high, black population here is negligible, and the cold here na die. I have not figured out how i will pay the tuition yet, but i pray i will scale through this semester.

I plan to complete one semester and transfer to another school. Which school can i get guaranteed Graduate Assistant ship or funding?
If i loose my status in this school(i don't pray for that-worst case scenario), can i possibly apply afresh again in another school since i am already in the usa?
Who knows the possibility of transferring credits from Management Information Systems to a course like electrical engineering?

Any valuable input will be most appreciated. Thank you

godG:
I will not judge the poster I just quoted, but I hope folks trying to come over will take a cue from his/her experience. America is not running away, let us take doses of chill pills when we are making life decisions. If funding no dey the offer, no reason am, at all! Guys, always, always, try to get funding; even if anyone is telling you not to worry, still, try to apply for funding. You do not want to be stranded or depressed in America. Good luck to everyone.

Brilliant, godG

sirRiddy:
Lol.

Lol.
Slimmy2005, funny you. Fulbright and tetfund. no be brothers. Lol

Abeg Slimmy, tell me the things Fulbright scholarship covers. And how does one qualify for its application.
I learnt Faculty staffs are in the best position to make one a potential Fulbrighter. How true is that?
Thanks

Hello Folks

I am a new member here. I have read through several posts here; i must say that I am quite impressed with your astute, sound and relevant advice.

As I prepare for my Graduate studies come Fall this year, I have questions on my mind. But let me start with these:

With my I-20 from, how soon can I apply for visa, considering the fact that Fall semester won't start until August/September?

Secondly, my passport will expire in December 2016 and I am sure you are aware that I can't get renewal from immigration before a six-month pre-expiry timeline. What do you suggest I do about this?
Thank you

Hello abuja/lagosNIV

I am a new member here. I have read through several posts here; i must say that I am quite impressed with your astute, sound and relevant advice.

As I prepare for my Graduate studies come Fall this year, I have questions on my mind. But let me start with these:

With my I-20 from, how soon can I apply for visa, considering the fact that Fall semester won't start until August/September?

Secondly, my passport will expire in December 2016 and I am sure you are aware that I can't get renewal from immigration before a six-month pre-expiry timeline. What do you suggest I do about this?
Thank you

Congratulations Onyemaanuforo.
That is great news.

I am also a new member on this thread. I was fascinated by the brilliant and concise advice on the thread.
Good job everyone

Thank you Pennstate.
So kind of you.

Good people of Nigeria
I am sorry that I have been away for sometime. I have been working on my applications.

Just a quick one:
Please how can I prepare a beautiful Statement of purpose (SOP) for a degree in Data Science/Computer science

Does anyone have a link that I might find helpful?

Thank you.

slimspzy:
hello guys
Been following this thread for about 2 months and it has really helped my preparation. kuddos to you guys! Writing mine this sunday @ JKK. would give my contributions after the exams! Good work again!!

Congratulations Slimspzy. Good job on your GRE. A really impressive score on your Quant. Good luck on the Analytical Writing Score!

Start applying.

paulbets:
Greetings forumites
I want to take a time out to send shout outs to DanjaNinja, and Sirriddy.
Also permit me to warmly Congratulate Sir Rogerdavid.

Best of Luck to us all

Thank you Paulbets. You have been on my mind. I mislaid our last conversation, and just like someone mentioned earlier, I have been off this thread due to the almost-torturous online applications. I must also thank you for your kind contributions and those incisive comments you sent to me via mail during my prep for GRE.
Stay strong!

Joined this thread in early september or thereabout, Prepared under a month and half, wrote my GRE october 13 at uniprep galaxy centre, Wuse. Had a 149-V, 158-Q and 4.5-analytical writing.
I think i read this post (below) by DanjaNinja a thousand times, even after seeing my scores. It is just so keen and trenchant:



''My GRE Experience: Lessons Learnt - J.

General Tips
#Tip 1: Don’t rely on any one single book.

Each book has its strength and weakness. Combine them all for maximum impact.

#Tip 2: What books do I need?

1. Grubber 2015
2. Barron’s GRE
3. Nova GRE Math Bible
4. Kaplan
5. Princeton Review

#Tip 3: How can I get these books?

If you can afford physical copies of these books – Sweet, go head and buy them all. But If you can’t afford any or you’re a ijebu madam like the lovely,intelligent MsNas kiss kiss or like myself, simply send a blank mail to selfstudy360@gmail.com or selfstudy.version2@gmail.com for soft copies (Pdf’s). #MoneyMustNotWaste

(a) selfstudy360@gmail.com contains:

• Barron's New GRE 19th Edition
• Cracking the GRE 2013
• Gruber's Complete GRE Guide 2012

While

(b) Selfstudy.version2@gmail.com (New*) contains:

• Gruber's Complete GRE Guide (2015)
• Mahanttan Prep - 5* lb. Book of GRE® Practice Problems (2013)
• Nova’s GRE Math Bible (2008)

#Tip 4: When should I take the GRE?

Take the exam at least 4 months before you plan to send your admission applications. That way, if you don’t meet your targeted score (not your portion…Oya say Amen!), you would still have enough time to retake the exam without duress. For example, if the deadline for admission application is September 15th, the ideal time for taking the GRE should be by May. The reason for this is simple: If you don’t meet ur target score, you can retake the GRE by June thereby providing ample time for sending your application. This is not a rule but a suggestion.


#Tip 5: How much time would it take to prepare for the GRE?

Minimum: 2months @ 4-5hours per day.
Note: The number of hours do not really matter, it’s the amount of problem solving skills learnt per unit time that counts. Some people learn quickly while for others, it might take longer to read and understand new concepts. So remember, 4-5hours are just recommendations, whether u spend more or less time – ultimately, it doesn’t matter. What matters is how much u learn and how fast you can correctly answer questions. If it takes u 4-5hours per day to achieve this goal, so be it. If it takes u less time, so be it. If it takes you more time, so be it. No one cares. Ultimately it’s your scores that matters.

#Tip 6: Can I prepare within a month?

Yes u can, but it’s not advisable. You need time to internalize and completely memorizes the GRE strategies.

And lastly,

#Tip 7: Don’t be deceived by your score on POWERPREP II.

You took the sample test on PowerPrep II, you had an average of 160-165, you feel good and cant wait to take the actual test. Truth is Powerprep II does not compare to the actual test. On a scale of one to ten, one being very easy and ten being very difficult, Powerprep is a 4.5 and the actual test is an 8.5. #OkBye

Now for the part you’ve been waiting for: My GRE Experience.

This is a summary of lesson learnt from my personal experience, please feel free to add your insights and contributions. Sharing is caring.

You probably know this already but just to refresh your memory - The GRE is made up of three parts: Analytical writing, Verbal and Quantitative.
1. Analytical Writing
2. Verbal
3. Quantitative

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO ACHIEVE HIGH SCORES.

FOR ANALYTICAL WRITING:

Books and Resources needed for Analytical Writing:
Official GRE Topic List (30%) + Kaplan (60%) + Barron (10%).

(a) Official GRE Topic List: GRE maintains a list of every possible topic that you will find on the actual test date!!!!!! It’s totally legal and you can find the list here:
Pool of Argument Topics: https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/argument/pool

Pool of Issue Topics: https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/issue/pool

The list is quite exhaustive: 200 issue task topics and 200 argument task topics. Once you have the list, group the topics into categories and proceed to (b). I believe if u know the possible questions, your chances of success should be up 30%.

(b) Get a copy of Kaplan’s New GRE Premiere and head to the Analytical Writing Section. Read, digest and understand the essay development template for both the issue task and the argument task as discussed on chapter 15 – Chapter 21 (New GRE Premiere - Kaplan 2011-2012 edition. Newer editions should be better). Don’t bother reading anything else on Kaplan, the rest of the book is useless. With the Kaplan template, you can begin to draw up possible responses to each topic category from the GRE topic list that you obtained from the GRE website. That way, on the test day, coming up with responses won’t be all that difficult because you’ve seen it all – abi how una see am?

(c) Get a copy of Barron: While this may not be compulsory, it will help you in paragraph development. Read and understand the “Claim, Grounds and Warrants” development on chapter 6 (Barron’s New GRE 19th Edition).

The last and most important step is to PRACTISE, PRACTISE AND PRACTISE. Practice using the available topics from the GRE list in a timed mode – your practice should mimic the real test. For the GRE, its 30minutes per writing task but for you, its 22 minutes. Why? It’s always better to practice with less time – It makes you stronger.

Practice with POWERPREP writing platform or Notepad to get a feel of the nature of the typing platform. Don’t practice with Microsoft Word.

One Again, PRACTISE AND PRACTISE. It’s ultra-important you do so. You can only write well by constant practice.

My Experience: I didn’t practice enough. Truth be told I practiced only once and the end result was abysmal. I could only manage one sensible paragraph for the issue task – Big Poo. The way time flies when ur messing up is simply amazing. The argument task was much better, I wrote 4 sensible paragraphs –all within 23 minutes.
Score: Surprisingly,I scored a 3 on the writing section. since the total score is the average of both scores, I assume I made a 5 on argument and a 1 on issue…lol..just my opinion.

Generally, Argument tasks are easier than issue tasks – for Argument tasks, an essay or issue with faulty premises is given; your job is to identify and logically explain them while for the Issue writing Task, you have to develop your own argument from scratch. Finding faults is easy (argument task), writing from scratch is less easy (issue essay). But for you reading this right now, a minimum of 4.5/6 should be perfectly achievable. Why? Cos you know every possible topic, you have pre-planned responses and your “hand dey hot” due to constant writing practice.

One last tip: As soon as you are done with a particular section, whether you performed well or not, it’s best to completely ignore that section, it belongs to the past - it doesn’t matter anymore. Whether you did well or not, does not matter and if you believe you didn’t perform well, it still doesn’t matter. Focus completely on the next section – You have seven (7) more sections to deal with and you need a focused, optimistic mindset to proceed successfully. There’s no use crying over spilt milk. [/b]

FOR QUANTITATIVE

Books You Need for Quantitative:

Grubber (25%) + Barron’s (25%) + Nova GRE Math Bible (25%) + Mahanttan (25%).

Do you have to read them all from cover to cover? Not really. Each book has its strength and weakness’s. You want to be prepared for every possibility. Better you write the GRE once than write it twice. Think of the cash - $200. Think of the time spent on preparation – weeks, even months and finally, think of your Goals. So grab does books and study like mad. The end justify the means.

Lesson 1: Study each question category and solve the most difficult questions you can find on that category to re-enforce your understanding of that category.

For example, if you had prepared with Grubber like I did, you will find the data interpretation, graphical and statistical questions difficult. Why? Grubber does not really delve into these sections. Barron in addition with Manhattan and Nova does a better job. So read and understand the underlying principles and skim all books for difficult questions on all topics.
Likewise, if u ignore Grubber’s Data Comparison and algebra strategies, you might not do so well. But then, there are notable exceptions. Individuals with an engineering, mathematical and statistical background would generally do better in the Quantitative section – they’ve been doing these problems for years. Also those with an aptitude for numbers would better. Does that mean those with little mathematically backgrounds would end up with low scores? – Nope. Just read up and practice, you might end up doing better than the so called Math wizards.

The GRE Quantitative consists of two sections made up of 25 questions each. Each section runs for 40minutes – that’s an average of 96 seconds per question – which leads to lesson 2.

Lesson 2: When studying and solving quantitative questions, set a time limit of 50 seconds per question and stick to it. Like previously stated, practicing with less time makes you stronger and faster.

Lesson 3: Solve lots of Quanttitative questions.

Manhanttan and Nova Math Bible offer a huge collection of quality quantitative questions. Solve as much questions as you can on both books. Luckily, if you don’t know the answers, solutions and explanations are provided in both books.

My Experience: I studied solely with grubber. Algebra and data comparison were a walk in the park but “I hear “ween” for Data interpretation/Statistics, Combinations and Graphs. On the actual test, I saw 6 hefty graphical and data interpretation problems and some others I can’t recall @ the moment. Were they super hard? – Not really but “them hard small o”. To answer them, you need to understand the question (30secs), solve for solutions (30-40secs) and compare possible answers (10secs). If u get it wrong, u start all over again. But as you start over, remember Time dey go ooooo!
That’s why you need Lesson 4.


Lesson 4:Someone on this thread advised - if you find any question difficult, simply mark that question and move on to others.. You may return to that question later. Don’t waste time trying to solve one question for over 1 minute, skip and return later. This is so true!.

FOR VERBAL

Books you need: Grubber (90%) + Barron (10%).

Honestly, You can actually survive by using only grubber. The verbal section seems like the easiest section on the GRE but don’t be complacent o! This section is pretty tricky. I remember one particular essay with about seven (7) paragraphs. It was so dense that you could barely understand the content of a single paragraph; It also felt like it was written in another language. It was that difficult.

Also,the verbal section is made up of several subsections all mixed into one. You will find sentence completion (synonyms and antonyms) and essay comprehension all packed into one.
My Experience: I scored a 157/170 – Not bad @ all given that Grubber was the sole book I used. I won’t lie, am an avid reader – I guess that helped. However, if you study the Grubber Verbal Strategies: Latin and Greek Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes; the Most Important/Frequently Used GRE Words and Reading Comprehension Strategies – You should have no problem with the Verbal section. Grubber does an excellent job by building ur vocabulary, teaching new words and providing some interesting strategies for essay comprehension.
There are other books like Princeton Review but since I didn’t use it, I can’t say much about it. This is where external input is advisable. Those who used Princeton, oya speak up.

Final Advice:
Unlike Jamb (wicked people) that provides a single opportunity to write the exam per year, the GRE gives you 5 chances per year to write the exam (better people). But because you can doesn’t mean you should. Prepare well and write it once. A score of 160 per section is totally achievable. Just read and solve a huge collection of difficult questions in a timed mode.

Oya it haff do, una bye bye, I don try. grin grin grin grin grin grin


UPDATE 1: If you had to choose one Book for Quantitative Analysis, Barron's should be it. That Book is the truth. The best GRE Quantitative prep book ever.

UPDATE 2: Listen all, i just found this incredible online resource for GRE materials. Its a facebook group but its by invitation only. So drop ur email addresses or send me a pm and i'll send you an invite to the group. Here's the group link, however it can only be accessed by members of the group:

https://www./newgremaster/

After joining the group, head to the file section and you will find every book and test questions there. #OneLove
.

UPDATE 3: Added Kaplan New GRE to "selfstudy.version2@gmail.com". If you want a copy of the Kaplan GRE book, send a blank mail to selfstudy.version2@gmail.com" "" DanjaNinja


So Guys, thank you for standing by. Danjaninja, thank you for the free materials. The Gruber made preparation less torturous.

congrats Kapitain

DanjaNinja, all these seem to me like the collection of the most valuable posts we have had on the thread in recent times. Really helpful reading some of them all over again. Good job Man!

Marqueetim, how many options were you given in the analytical writing part of your GRE?

Marqueetim, how many options were you given in the analytical writing part of your GRE?

marqueetim:
Funding depends on the school. But I wunt settle for less..Will retake this month or early next month..

Marqueetim, how many options were you given in the analytical writing part of your GRE?

[quote author=bamjay post=38296517][/quote]thanks bamjay. I have done just that. Paid two days ago. No solution to the problem yet but I was asked to call back in two days time.

ETS has debited my account without sending a tracking code and/or the 'THANK YOU' display; both of which indicate a successful application for the GRE exam. Please Guys, what should I do? I have mailed them but no response since the mail was sent more than 24 hours ago?

I paid via Paypal

Please Guys, this PayPal thing, can a verve card be linked with it? And where is the connection between the PayPal account and ETS-GRE payment?

Thanks

@kapitain, get familiar with the issues and arguments pool on the ets website. Try and practice several questions in this short time

marqueetim:
Yes it is possible by locating the right school for your GRE Score.

Please Guys, how long does it take for the scores to be delivered to intended schools after the test day? i ask this because of the deadline attached to applications in this Fall in some of the US schools.

Thank you

@Paulbet, can you receive a private message? If yes, how please? Because I tried sending a mail to you but that option didn't work.

@Paulbet, thanks for taking time out to share your experience on the GRE. Best of luck with admission