₦airaland Forum

smallsuper:
I also got Louisiana State University day before yesterday, official letter not yet out though without funding but I have been able to secure RA from a POI I mentioned in my SOP. Contacting him before applying worked.
#Team Fall 2018. #Yes we can.

Not surprised at all. More to come. Amen.

Quoran:
Scholastica16 If a Professor says he will apply for a fellowship on your behalf, what does he mean?

Fellowship usually comes from the department with no conditions. Many times it is a lump sum payment and other times spread over a time period. It is not tied to maintaining a GPA or doing RA/TA and is usually offered to the best or most preferred students in an application pool. Congrats.

If he is lobbying for you to get it, it means he truly wants you on his team. Fellowship is usually added to the RA/TA that will come from him which will make your sum for the year quite comfy. Congrats again.

Perotti:
p

And they earn way more than professors in Nigeria. It’s better than nothing.

That was my point. Some earn as much as $70k a year. Their average salary is $52k/year.

biikeys:
Where? in Nigeria?

At all na. In the USA.

biikeys:
Postdocs don't earn much

They earn 2 or 3 times more than PhDs.

Quoran:
lol @ Stingy. I reckon that is because they receive so many applications since their application fee has been waived. I recently applied for their Mechanical Engineering PhD program. I have contacted most of their professors. The keep lamenting about lack of personal research funds to fund me. Departmental assitantship is competitive as usual. I am hoping for the best though.

They waive app fees to reject many people and then improve their rankings. The higher rate of rejections you get, the higher your ranking (for those who care so much about rankings).

3rd best school in industry-rich Michigan should not be lamenting lack of funds when UMich and MSU are heavily funded. On Grad cafe, almost every PhD in your dept had to really lobby for partial funding before they sniffed it. Just put me off from the school jare.

Like I said, I pray it is better for you guys.

MasterforceII:
Congratulations Scholastica16. So happy for you.

Hi man. How is it going? Expecting big deals for you.

A lot of red herrings in Gunnerson’s post and some other things there are obviously right. My own take is how does someone “settle” for a post-doc? Have you seen the average salaries they earn? That is officially more than what President PMB and VP Osinbajo get in a year.

Then conversion of Naira to Dollar will only make sense if you earned your money in Naira and had to spend it in Dollars. How can someone who earns $2000 a month be angry that he spent $100 (5% of his earnings) on something because it is N36,000 in his head whereas maybe Nigerians buy same thing N30, 000. When the person who paid N30,000 for the said item earns N150,000 (20% of his income).

It is always right to compare your standard of living and ease of earning in the place where you pay N2M per year to the same one in Ojuelegba where you pay 500k.

And BTW, 1 Bedroom apartment where 3 people share one bathroom? Which Tenant Manager allowed you guys stay that way? Traditionally 1Bed rooms are more expensive than 2 and 3 bed rooms shared. If you wanted to be extra prudent you would have stayed in a 3bed room (that is where kitchen and bathrooms are shared) and paid 1/3rd of the price of a 1Bed room.

So you see, you were being hyperbolic just to pass your point. I can also poke holes in the big school talk because there are many people on here who did not go to MIT etc and are in very-well paying jobs but I get why you said it and I partially endorse that aspect of your post.

Understand that just like everything in life, the individuals play a huge role in their ultimate success over and above the school they attended, programs they opted for, luck or even class of degree. Everything should be viewed from the prism of context.

Congrats Athorello. Michigan Tech is a stingy school but the way people get funding is to contact POIs after getting admitted. Normally, PhDs should come with automatic funding but not with MTech. In fact, sometimes most PhDs get partially funded. I pray that is not the case with you.

Congrats still.

SmallSuper, the good thing is you still got your 326. Most schools traditionally take the highest scores of each section of your GRE as long as you submit both of them.

Great stores all round. Kylexy61, very good overall score. It seems we had similar experiences WRT to PowerPrep and main day GRE scores. You can do a lot with your score sha. Congrats.

Paulbets, thanks o. I am so grateful and expectant for you too.

Time2Smile:
While I agree with you about the extremely poor state of Nigerian education, saying we are admitted just because of diversity is stretching it a bit. Sure schools will prefer to have a class of international students India, China and students from African countries instead of just Indians and Chinese. However, I think most institutions know that our perceived deficiencies are mainly due to lack of opportunity and a broken system and not lack of ability. That is why they try to select the "best brain" from here and I assure you the selected ones are more than good enough to succeed with adequate resources at our disposal.

With regards to research experience, I personally was not under any illusion because I read papers in my field, I am aware of inadequacy and know that there are a lot of techniques I have to learn because the facilities are not just available in Nigeria. That's one of the things that really spurred my desire to get a foreign education because research in Nigeria is non-existent. But once again, this is an aspect in which I applaud US universities. Most realize we don't have state-of-the-art facilities or exposed avant-garde technique, what they are essentially looking for is someone who understands what research entails. The long hours in the lab, formulating questions and having the perseverance to seek answers to it for months end, hard work, dedication, selflessness, some minimum level of intelligence and perspicacity.

That is what educated folks and universities understand, they know people from supposedly "shithole" countries can excel given the right tools and opportunity.

I actually agree with this and maybe I was too dramatic in my construction. I was panning our lack of research experience/know-how and not our ability. In ability, we are probably up there with the best if not a shade better. But in terms of cognate research experience, we are lagging far far behind.

The best way to describe my experience thus far is to say our education in Nigeria is a huge scam. A friend of mine said someone told her that all the VCs in Nigeria should return the tuitions of all the Nigerian students from year 1 to final year and I could not agree more. Just take it that you probably wasted your university years in terms of actual school work. What Nigeria did for us however was to train us on how to cope with stress.

I am still adjusting to the cold, cultural difference and palpable lack of awareness research-wise. All that "I have XX years of research" we used to say, does not measure up. In fact, when you come in, you would realise you were probably only admitted (and funded for those who were) because they wanted diversity. Even the high GPA thing feels like another inflated exercise but let me speak for me alone.

I have no doubt that I would click into gear very soon. For ChE guys, take Hirschfelder's posts like a page from the bible. Everything he has said about the core ChE courses being intermediate Maths-heavy and the research aspect being Chemistry-laden are spot on. I am there now and I can say he is absolutely correct.

Good thing is, you are being set-up here to succeed unlike your country. Lecturers will take time to answer questions and make texts readily available for advanced reading. Internet/Wi-Fi sometimes at 300MBPs on hand to aide the learning/research process. You have no excuse to falsify, fabricate or plagiarize any data or material. They take grand exceptions to this and it could get you rusticated in a flash.

I have just added some boring Analytical Chemistry course (Analytical Separations) because my major professor thinks it will help with the impending research we would do together. I hope he is right because the first few classes were in Aramaic and no, I do not speak nor comprehend the ancient language. But I have to learn it which ever way and also Ace it for the sake of the people who think I can.


And Yes, I can.

The end for now.

...on the day I was to travel, I was scheduled to leave by 10:55PM Nigerian time, so boarding began at 9:55PM. After bidding everyone that accompanied me to the airport, farewell, I realized I had not filled that yellow card that the immigration folks at MMIA give. So I filled it and "declared" the money within my possession. A mistake I would get to rue later.

I got to the immigration guy who looked at my visa and passport and was to stamp it but for some reason after looking at my yellow form for a while asked me about my old international passport. I got it (trying to be a good citizen) and tendered it to him, who likewise flipped through all the pages, issued it back to me but then told me to meet a fellow immigration guy down the aisle to seek approval from him to get stamped.

Something about that arrangement did not sit well with me but I obliged him; Went to the M. Gardo (that is the bastard's name) and told him what had previously transpired. Gardo sized me up and began to spew mumbo jumbo about how I was attempting to travel with 2 valid passports. In my calmest voice, I proceeded to educate him on the 6-month rule; how that my previous passport was expiring on the 17th of January 2018 (and thus was invalid). Also showed him the pages detailing that I had no US visa on it which means I could never even use it. When he claimed I tried to present it to his colleague I told him point-blank that it was in my hand luggage and that I only brought it out on request from his colleague.

Gardo did not listen to anything I had to say. He kept responding defensively, telling me I was trying to teach him his job. A young adult man who saw the exchange came and bought wahala for himself by trying to defend me. Next thing Gardo and one other ridiculously stewpid lady refused the guy passage because he had less than $1000 on him. They brought out some flimsy paper and began to pontificate. When the man was tired of their shenanigans, he proceeded to bribe them with N1000. That is when I realized why I was being held.

Gardo said "this man you see here (referring to me) is bigger than you and me put together but his problem is I-too-Know". As soon as I heard that, I explained to them how I am a scholar going to represent Nigeria in the US and how that any money on me was given to me by my sponsor - PTDF. Gardo acted like he cared, but it was only for 30 seconds. First he asked me to bring out all the documents I used to get my visa and also my award letter. Of course, I did not give hid to that callous man. Then He started making side talks to his fellow thief in uniform (the lady) and they told me I was going to sleep there and miss my flight except I went to the immigration office to get my first passport cancelled without prejudice.

Please bear in mind, that all these were pure sophistry. That passport had cancelled itself without prejudice but they would not listen. 9:55PM turned to 10:15PM and 2 Nigerians just decided to heap curses on themselves. I was getting infuriated but I did not let it show. Occasionally, I would smile as if I had it under control. Couldn't let my mum panic so each time she called I would understate the true turn of events. Till another Godsend immigration guy came there, realized their antics, took me to their "office" came out back in 2 mins and quickly acted like he was just realizing that the contentious passport had no visa. That became his cue to free me and let me get scanned for the penultimate time before leaving.

To save myself of a long story, I realized my visa was not stamped, so I went back to another immigration man who acted like he was my friend ( yet kept quiet when the couple of evil tried to act like their creator- the devil and keep me hanging). He helped me get my visa stamped, and I zoomed off in time to board my flight by 10:45ish - noting to myself while seated - that I would do all it takes (including marrying a whitey USC) just to make sure I don't ever have to come back here...except to see my folks ofcourse.

Don't judge me. LOL.

PTDF Final/Nigerian Immigration/Observation thus far

Once you get your visa approved and delivered you are to scan it and send a copy to PTDF with a form detailing when you would want to travel and so on. An easy task that could be done via emails, PTDF made us come to Abuja again or use a proxy. Luckily for me, my mum works in the state so I begged her to help me and she did. I selected a travel date of 30th December 2017. The plan was to get in early enough to settle and attend all the orientations/health screening before January 8th that classes were to begin.

Like Clock work, on the 28th of December 2017 an agent from KLM called me to finalise my itinerary. After wrongly assuming I wanted to land at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, I corrected it to Des Moines (the capital) as my school through the International Scholars and Students Organization organises free bus rides from the airport in Des Moines to Ames (or anywhere you choose) where my school is located at. The Uber/Lyft/Taxi equivalent would have been $53 and above, so yes, I did not want to be spending that.

The agent assured me I would be getting my ticket sent just after the phone call so I was excited. PTDF for all their eff-ups (and they have been many) were actually doing something rightly for the first time - or so I thought. 28th came and went, no ticket. I called the agent, PTDF staff in charge of protocols and logistics to lodge a complaint. They assured me it would be done that day or unfailingly the next so I chilled. 29th also came and went and nobody picked my calls.

The day I was to travel and the day after all I heard was "we are working on it". They said this to me till the 5th of January (the date specified on my I-20). I had to inform my school about the issue and they inturn sent me a letter that I could use to avoid Customs and border protection wahala. That same 5th I blew up all the phones in the protocol office with calls till they knew me on first name basis. A ray of hope came in the afternoon of that 5th when the PTDF staff I had bugged with phone calls called me to gloat that PTDF had sent me a ticket since the 28th. It was in the course of my communication with him that he realised they sent that ticket to a wrong email address even when I gave them the right one. Besides, this is a people I kept calling since the 28th but only realized their mistake 8 days after and when I was definitely not going to get into the country earlier than the 6th of January. To make matters worse, KLM/Airfrance was completely booked till January 7th so that is when my new ticket was issued and I could only get into Iowa, USA via Amsterdam and Minneapolis, on the 8th of January by 7PM. So yes, I missed my potential first classes....

Huge thank you to:

Tizentos, Glocal1, Elevatedmind, Donzizou, Oludare1, Time2Smile, pon pon, Eldeevee, Hirschfelder, Toks07, drhopeful, Kacey007 etc

I could not help but mention all of you. I am grateful for all the love I am getting on here. May God bless you all real good.

lolokike:
Hello guys, i have been preparing for the GRE.
The Verbal reasoning has been time demanding and i really need to write the exam ASAP AS PER THE VOCABULARIES are sumtin else.

I just want to ask if the GMAT is easier as per verbal reasoning?

BTW I dont have any issue with Quantitative reasoning.





cc Scholastica16

Some say GMAT verbal is easier but that the Quants are harder. I could not really tell when I peeped at the GMAT verbal reasoning but I am sure that if you are willing and obedient to the rules of the GRE, you will eat the good of the land.

DexxyAlebs:
Well said, but I believe we that just wrote learnt from some people's experiences, posting some of our flaws might help someone else prepare better.

After seeing my test scores, I just made up my mind not share anything, cos I was heartbroken, but supersmall just moved me to just say my little piece.

I had been following the thread around February last year, got all the materials I used here, the Google Drive links, etc.

So I think I shot my self in the leg by not giving verbal adequate attention.

My Score
Q: 155
V: 141

UG GPA: 3.81/5 (wes unofficial 3.34)
Toefl: registering asap

Computer science.

Sent my scores to
PDX
MTSU
UALR
NMSU

Gurus your thoughts please.
Scholastica16
Lagosismyhome
Et Al.

I still believe your best bet is reaching out to PIs but you should really plan towards retaking the GRE if that fails. Truth be told, we learn nothing in Nigeria so they may need to hold unto something as proof that you can adapt to their system, and sadly, GRE or standardized tests in general still feel like that proof.

trillville:
Scholastica16

Congratulations, I am soo happy for yo.u You have been extremely helpful to a lot of us on this thread and God has certainly rewarded your efforts.
I may not be your parent but I will still throw my blessings on you. Whenever you call 1 person, 10 thousand would answer you. The Grace of the Lord will always be upon you. Wherever you sow, you shall reap. May God continue to bless you. Goodluck in all your endeavours and do take good care of yourself.

AMEN!

LadunaI:
You're a fighter, and your fighting spirit resonates such an optimism that permeates and illuminate the path that seems to be leading to no where. You typified the saying The WINNERS Never Quit.

Your courageous moves always baffles me, and at the same time reminds that truly if there is WILL there will always be a way!

I pray you get the very BEST of your heart desire.

Stay blessed bro!

I am deeply moved by this. Thank you very much.

happyday:
Hey!

Congrats to you, and welcome home!! Iowa State is a very good school, though the cold no be here. I've always heard of these local scholarships and their too much gra-gra, I never knew it was this bad. That was some real scuffle there, and for what it's worth, you've crossed the hardest hurdle - you got in. The good news is that, while it might still be tasking to get funding for your program here, you're definitely in safe hands.

You'll have enough time to rest & recover in the summer. But for now, hit the ground running, and PROVE yourself. I wish you the BEST this semester. And remember to stay warm! Very important!!

Thank you plenty much man. Long time no read you. How is Louisiana and the RA, I am sure you are making light work of the research?

For me here adjusting has not been exactly easy and that is because the whole system is different from Nigeria. That cold you speak of, I heard about it...but like the Queen of Sheba when meeting Solomon, the cold far outweighed and outfroze any ideas I had before. Even Iowan natives say it is a new one. Truly, this arctic blast meant business when it said it will turn up.

Now I know that thick hand gloves, head warmers and even napkins for the face are not fashion items. My fingers get numb when not in gloves and I don't feel my nose and ears at times. Great thing is, all the apartments and buildings are insulated from the cold, so I stay warm indoors.

I am enjoying the serene environment and easy-going people. I understand there is a phrase "Iowan Nice" in USA when trying to refer to how nice someone is. I see how that came about. Women open doors for me and wait till I walk ahead of them unlike what obtains in Naija. I can get used to the treatment. I really can.

Thanks for looking out. Regards.

frostsc:
Congrats bro. I was really excited and I'm really happy for you. I decided not to post my own visa experience due to recent events here but I guess I will shortly.


God bless you abundantly and on behalf of everyone you have helped on this forum, we say thank you.

Baba, don't get flustered if you are accused. If you shed light, darkness will be sent packing. I appreciate all your contributions here and I am aching to see your transcript. Please don't deprive us of it I beg you.

Thank you for the compliments. I truly appreciate you.

Thanks to everyone that has wished me well. I would mention everyone one of you but it will be unnecessary. This thread was mighty helpful to me so I am surprised that many of you are abandoning it. No matter what, share your experiences and ask your questions here. Someone might know something that the person you PMed may not know. For e.g I saw Yildiz' question on Data Science and I was surprised that some girl I know and is very well-versed in such fields did not respond. It is unfair.

@Yildiz, Data Science is a huge deal in the USA. Look no further when making your inquiries, simply check people's discussions on the subject matter on Quora if you do not get ready information on here.

......

My Visa Interview

I received my I-20 from Iowa State University on December 7th physically and that is because they used express mail services to get it to me. I immediately tried to book a visa date and the earliest I could see was January 22nd whereas my I-20 read that I was to be in the US on the 5th. I stubbornly refused to select that date until people and commonsense prevailed on me to accept it and explore the emergency services option on the visa/travel doc portal.

I told them my story and attached my SEVIS coupon, admission letter (that wrote that 2 profs basically fought to have me) as well as my PTDF award letter explaining to them why I am just applying for the visa. I did this on a Saturday evening which I am guessing was on the 9th of December and by the next day, they approved my emergency request and asked me to select between December 11th to 16th to be interviewed. I went with the 13th because I had boasted to people who knew me (on the 7th of December that I would be approved before the 14th of the same month).

Because where I stay(ed) in Lagos was not too far from the US consulate, I left my house around 5:30AM on that day and was able to get there before 6:15AM for a 6:30AM appointment. I was privileged to not meet the CGI crew of fraudsters who make people print documents they don't need at outrageous prices. I was turned back however at the final checking in stage when one ITK lady realized I was wearing a smart watch but it all worked out in the end as the Visa was eventually approved. My actual transcript went thus;

VO [Some African American lady in window 10]: I see you want to go to Iowa State to undergo your masters in Chemical Engineering. Why?

Me: Started mouthing off something about Biorenewables (my area of concentration) *don't want to bore you with what I was saying*

VO: [Nodding suspiciously] then says, I asked you why Chemical Engineering...stops herself from going further and says "why do you want a master's degree?"

Me: because it is going to be relevant in Nigeria jobwise which is an aside from the fact that my area of concentration is going to be the future of energy and perhaps foreign exchange in Nigeria.

VO: Do you have a first degree?

Me: Yes, In Chemical Engineering as well.

VO: Oh, I see. When did you graduate?

Me: 2011

VO: What have you been doing since?

Me: I worked with an oil servicing company right after the Compulsory national youth service scheme, got bored, taught for a bit and recently quit that job as well.

VO: [Nods approvingly because it rhymes with what I wrote in the DS160 form].

VO: So how will this course help you in Nigeria?

Me: [looks incredulously at her] and says "sorry I don't understand".

VO: Why is this course not being done in Nigeria and why will Nigeria benefit from it?

Me: Well, the world is going greener and scientists are getting more conscious of the non-toxic or -toxic effects that our resources bring to us. Biobased products like biofuels, biodiesels and other biomass derivatives are known to be more environmentally friendly and cheaper somewhat to mass produce. Also, I am aiming to synthesize heterogeneous catalysts that will aide their mass production from the non-edible part of plants and so on [I am chopping mouth here and using ermmss..emmmms a couple of times]. At some point, I say I am struggling to find words to use to express myself to someone who has no clue about my field.

VO: JUST USE CLEAR TERMS AND KEEP IT SHORT I DON'T HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD.

Me: at this point I am getting antsy and even irked but I am smiling and calculating how to swing things in my favor (in my head).

VO: so list some courses you would take.

Me: listed some courses from University but just added Advanced to 4 of them.

VO: [Still looks unimpressed]. So why Iowa State University?

Me: I looked at a couple of schoo....

VO: Does not let me finish. Says "I don't have time for that, I want to know why this school of all the schools you looked at."

Me: Yes, that is what I was about to answer.

Me: did not want to give her the canned answer of class size etc or their ranking in engineering or my course, neither do I tell her about the Prof that wanted me 'cause I am livid at this juncture. So I say "well, after acquiring my scholarship, I was looking for a reasonably priced highly-rated school that was within my sponsor's budget" [did that to just mention my scholarship jare].

VO: [Eyes bulging now], what scholarship? [Says this and looks at the I20 while at it]

Me: I have a full govt scholarship which will take care of all my spendings, I mean tuition and stipend for the duration of my program.

VO: I don't know this scholarship.

Me: It has existed since the 60s and is a renowned scholarship. You can Google it or my name to get more information. I also have my award letter here if you care to look at it

VO: [Offers to look at it ]. Looks at it...types for a bit. Then asks me if I took standardized tests.

Me: Yes ofcourse; GRE and TOEFL. Do you want to see them also?

VO: [Nods]

Me: hands them over to her.

VO: Sees them and immediately says "I will be approving..."

I heard everything she said but at this point I am so exhausted and angry that I give her this inscrutable look. For the first time in the whole interview, she smiles, gives the white paper and tells me she is going to hold unto my passport. I don't thank her, walk out of there, tip the security personnel just outside and pay the police woman that helped me keep my watch - then I head home...angry. I was expecting a really short interview considering I was given an emergency date but I guess God had other plans.


PS: When I am chanced, I will explain my immigration experience just before I left Nigeria. How PTDF almost botched my ticket and travel plans and my experience thus far in the USA (Close to 2 weeks that I have been here) and what I have noticed about our GPAs and much-touted research experience. Timezone difference is crazy but I coped easily as I used to be "Mr Nocturnal" in Nigeria.

PTDF stage Two

...Ater consulting all consultables I applied to Iowa State University. I was conflicted initially because the app fee was $100 and I had limited time but something told me to press on and I did. Exactly 7 days after the grad prog directed emailed me to say 2 Professors saw my profile, liked it and wanted to have a Skype Interview with me. That interview was scheduled few days after his email and I spoke with a very intelligent CALTECH grad of a Professor for something like 18mins. At the end of that chat, he told me straight-up that he wanted to work with me. That is the summary of how I got into Iowa State.

I am regarded as a scholarship-sponsored research assistant because I have a federal government award but I feel all will change after a semester when I start getting extra funding from the school themselves. The Professor I work with is well-funded by the National Science foundation so that also backs my thought-process. But I digress....

I have to abridge this story and cut out the part were I turned accountant and carried out a thorough analysis of the tuition and fees in a way I could present it to PTDF without it being rejected. I got to their towers on the 19th of November, submitted my admission letter and got it approved together with being issued my Proof of funding and award letter between that day to the 22nd. The simple fact is it was not as easy as I am presenting it here: There were days of frustration as PTDF refused to offer any scholar going to the US more than an 18-month stipend. The good thing being, the stipend as it were, can take care of one for 2 years without the burden of lab work and teaching that TAs and RAs are saddled with.

Let me also chip in that the scholarship has changed alot from last year to the one I benefitted from. For instance, there used to be a one-off payment for warm clothing, a laptop and cutlery but all that was removed from the award letter. US scholars used to get 24-month stipends (in fact, PTDF used to adjust the stipend depending on the state one was travelling to) but they stopped that this year. Even getting them to give you the 18-month allowance was a heavy bargain which even turned depressing for some others. By the time you experienced the cold shoulder treatment in Abuja, you'd have simply realized that all those big school ambitions via them would have been a pipe dream. I pray for those aiming for it this year (may your struggles be less).

The UK scholars, most of whom travelled in Sept/Oct did not get a dime from PTDF till November. People had to fend for themselves till money was released 2 and for others 3 months later. On the whatsApp group we created, there was alot of weeping and gnashing of teeth that one wondered if the scholarship was worth it at all. In actual fact, the happiest days of acquiring the scholarship are the days you saw your name on the list and perhaps after getting your first payment tranche. The inbetweens are not for the faint-hearted.

It won't also be fair to them if I do not add that atleast they also reimburse your SEVIS, Visa fees and any medical tests you take prior to applying for the visa or in a bid to completing your registration. They will also handle your insurance, books and supply if you are smart enough to invoice it to them. Lest I forget, they pay for your flight too and for those who travelled in December and saw those humongous figures, I am sure you'd have wished you had the scholarship at that point in time. Looking back, I would prefer to get my scholarship and funding fully from the school as those one's have value for you more than PTDF or any other scholarship body in Nigeria. But that is my own honest opinion.

My PTDF Journey

After having acquired the scholarship, I realized a harder task lay ahead; Midway into the game, PTDF decided to shift the goal post and then change the rules of the game. They instructed everyone to apply to only schools in the UK and told us explicitly that the scholarship would last for one year - of which - they were only going to sponsor 1-year programs.

The programs in UK, though good, did not tickle my fancy. I was fully set on the USA and nothing could stand in my way. In my head, I was willing to forfeit the scholarship if PTDF remained adamant and I made that clear to everyone who asked or made inquiries. I emailed a previous scholar from the previous set and he gave me some partial assurances that they were not inflexible. His reasoning was that they raised similar conditions previously but bent with more pressure. I took his words to heart and waited, whilst scouring for schools that I felt I could present to my sponsor.

I decided to go for higher ranked schools than I could aim for in my last admission's debacle. I looked at GaTech, Northwestern, Boulder, Purdue, UCLA and so on. If it was below MIT, CALTECH and Stanford, I looked at it. Many of these schools did not have my major, Chemical Engineering Thesis-based available in Spring. The few that did had their spring deadlines elapsed as far back as July (even before I sat for the scholarship test). Some (Like Northwestern and Boulder) that were kind enough to still be available by 2nd week of September pointedly told me that they needed Q166 V162 GRE for the former or that they did not have the thesis option for spring.Add UW Seattle and Delaware to schools that said that to me. UTAustin like Santabarbara wanted a direct PhD app which I knew my sponsor will not honor.

After much ado, I put in applications to U.Southern California, Texas A&M College Station and UMD College park. 2 weeks after UMD moved my app to fall, USC accepted me and TAMU gave me a cool fat reject. There are stories inbetween this as to why that was so but the summary is, TAMU can be pretty selective for God knows what reasons. I quickly held unto my USC app and readied myself to present it to my sponsor until I heard that a fellow scholar who tendered UMich Ann Arbor to them got turned down.

I reasoned it was foolhardy to try my luck with USC as UMich which was only (see me using "only" ) $44k+/ year was rejected yet USC was $60k+/ year in tuition and fees. And with it, my silicon valley dreams were put on hold. TAMU was my hope at the time but they dashed it on the 1st of November 2017. Still battling with the thought that US schools won't be accepted; November being way past the deadline for many spring apps I had to pray and go back to thr drawing board to find befitting schools. My definition of befitting here was top 70 Engineering, reasonably priced and Spring app still available. So yes, needle in a hay stack kind of challenge.

Time will fail me to talk about how I emailed a ton of schools again on that first day in November; telling them I had a scholarship, my profile; and the fact that I wanted a Thesis-based program in Chemical Engineering. OSUC, ASU, NCSU, ISU, Rutgers etc. Of this list, only NCSU did not reply till date. OSUC told me to wait to apply in fall as time was far spent. ASU told me I could try but they could not guarantee I would get the Form-I20 in time. ISU (Iowa State University) had their spring deadline in August (15th to be precise) so I felt it was a long shot. I can't even remember what Rutgers said. Anyways, long story short, ISU replied and the graduate prog director told me to apply immediately.


...To be continued...

sunshineluv5:
bro please explain

Stop looking for agents with a price range. Look for renowned agents first and see if their price works for you. BY MAFIT charge N50k and ponpon charges N45k. Both are trusted.

You might see someone who may tell you N38k but use a stolen credit card to pay for it. Few months down the line, ETS could discover it and terminate your scores (alerting your schools while at it) and even bar you from using your full name to partake in their tests for a while.

olaolu39:
.


150

Are you looking for a scholarship? Are you in contact with any POI in your prospective schools?

If not, I think you should retake it because, compositely, your score might be deemed unworkable by many schools.

But if you are going to fund yourself and you have good GPA then use msinus.com to check the B- and C+ schools. Some B+ schools as well.

But if you are fully-depending on scholarships, aim for fall 2019 and take your time to ace the GRE. Although your field is quants-based, a weak V like that is a red flag. Seriously.

Geedhey:
I already have University of Tulsa on my shortlist, University of Virginia, Texas Tech University & Louisiana University Lafayette.

Autocorrect. Meant to type CSU.

UVA Charlottesville is ambitious.
Lafayette is ok. Funding might come next semester.
Texas Tech can work but funding is dicey for first semester as well.

M.S funding is very very hard and you do not have the profile for PhD in the schools above.

Use startclass.com to see schools similar to Cleveland State as it might help. If you can pay for your first semester that too might help.

Have you looked at Montana University?

tizentos:
H guys, please what does it mean if a prof replies with this message in the image below. Is it a green light or what? my head is not booting at all.

It is definitely not a red light. But nothing is set in stone.

Regards.

tizentos:
Hi guys, how sure is the mastercard foundation scholarship for Michigan State University for a Nigerian with a high GPA(3.8/4.0) and GRE of 312? Please I need suggestion based on past record of awardees.

Do you have a really compelling story?

Something in the lines of growing up in extreme poverty?

Are you with education USA?

If you don't meet the criteria above, it is recommended you swerve to avoid stories that touch.

triplemtrk:
Good day great minds,

I mailed a professor for the prospect of being part of his research team in a Master degree program (although not a research based course).

He replied me with this:

Hi Mohammed - thanks for your email.
If I have any further questions, I will be sure to contact you.

Regards,
Matt

Pls, does this mean he's perhaps interested in my application?
Or can I mention such correspondence with him in my personal statement with the school?

If it is not research he won't be contacting you bro.