Sisib15:
Hello everyone,
Please are international students allowed to make hair for people as side hustle.

This is actually a good way to make some extra money as a student here in the US. It’s not official but no one will monitor you to know if you make hair for people or not lol. Haircare is super expensive here in the US, so if you have such skill, you can make hair for fellow Nigerians in your school or close classmates at a lower rate than regular salon and make some cash from that. Make sure your customers pay in cash ONLY. You can even defend that by saying you help your friends with their hair and they tip you, so that is not officially a salary and you can do that after classes or during the weekend in your house. I bet if you are doing good job, you’d have a bunch of customers coming to you via referral.

Those skills are actually good to have for international students coming to the US. Other skills that might be useful include tailoring, phone repairs, barber, etc. Just don’t go and open a hair salon as a student under F1 visa. LOL.

In my school then, I had this low key barber who knew how to cut hair and would cut my haircut for a much lower price than regular barber shop. And he was making a lot of money from students like me.

So don’t let anyone tell you it’s part of your 20hrs per week max on campus job.
Cheers and congrats on your visa approval.

Wishing other prospective visa applicants all the best! 😊

Congrats to all the Fall 2018 aspirants who recently got their visas approved, please don’t forget to share your transcripts.
Also, to those who couldn’t get their visas at first trial, never give up.

hilaryxoxo:
Just so we are all on the same page. Check this ranking https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2018/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/name/Ibadan/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats

University of Ibadan is between 800th - 1000th. But there are tons of schools that have been mentioned on this thread that aren’t even on the list!
In other words, based on the ranking, University of Ibadan is technically better than those schools.


You now wake up one day and want to go and spend money in a school that would technically not add any value to you Why not just stay in Nigeria and do a professional exam? ICAN? ACCA??

You can even learn certain skill set online for FREE. You can learn python on Data Camp or Edx. Infact, many of the programs on Edx were put together by elite organizations like Microsoft, World Bank and Harvard.

That money, you can go on AliExpress and start a business or learning a vocation.

WAKE UP

All that glitters is not gold. It’s not all about just leaving Nigeria for leaving Nigeria sake. It’s about rebranding yourself. It’s about building your profile. It’s about positioning yourself for better opportunities and promotions.

DONT SETTLE FOR LESS.
“Mediocrity will never do, you’re capable of better things”

Madam, why don’t you just remain in Nigeria and apply to University of Ibadan.....**just thinking out loud**

HigherEd:

And why exactly can a Unilag, AUN, or Covenant not be compared to any university in the US You do understand that 95% of American universities do not meet the Times Higher ranking Of UI?

SMH

Ezedan1:
Please help a brother out abeg una.....

Hello house pls kindly help me with your advice.
I just graduated last year and I studied communication technology in National open university.
I came out with 2.89 as my cgpa.
I am aiming to apply for masters degree program in USA but do I still need TOEFL or GRE test?
Are there schools that don't ask for this?
Please I need your advice so I can start my application processing.
Thank you very much.

I have seen this post repeatedly here. The information you seek is one you can easily get on this thread if you take your time to read through. This explains why nobody is responding to your post....

With your cgpa, you can still get admission in US schools, but I really don’t understand why you want schools that don’t ask for GRE and TOEFL. Depending on the area you are considering your masters program on, taking these tests will boost your chances of getting the admission and visa too. So I’d suggest you search online to check schools that can accept your range of cgpa, then take those test to increase your chances.

Meanwhile, if you can take your time to read through this thread, you would get a plethora of info that will help you throughout your application process. You can do everything yourself! All the best

freudianslip:
https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-changing-policy-accrued-unlawful-presence-nonimmigrant-students-and-exchange-visitors

Thanks a lot

hilaryxoxo:


Hey,
I know about the Texas A & M system but I wasn’t familiar with the Kingston one.

The main message I was trying to pass across was that we should shoot higher shots. I just joined nairaland and 80% of the schools people have mentioned on this thread don’t even have any ranking. In other words, these school arent worthy/accredited enough to be ranked. That’s a very big thing. A lot of people here are blinded by the fact that the schools are in the US. They don’t know that there’s no prospect in some of these schools. I’m definitely not saying it must be an Ivy League, but let it be a decent school. Top 1000 in the world should be the minimum threshold.

Hey, keep wallowing in your ignorant....
And for your information, there’s no school as “Texas A&M the Kingston one” .....if you can’t do research about schools in the US, then just shut the Bleep up, and refrain from discouraging people here. Not everyone can afford to go to MIT and the likes.
And as someone has rightly pointed out, school ranking doesn’t automatically secure your dream job, you have to work towards getting such job irrespective of your school ranking.
For example, I came across a student from UPenn who’s looking for Summer Internship, meanwhile, many students from TAMUK which you perceived as a dead school got offers from Intels/IBM during the last NSBE convention/career fair in Pittsburgh.....
The bottom line is; u don’t choose school based on how it sounds to you. If MIT, Vanderbilt, etc are the schools that pleases you, you don’t have publicly condemn other schools that you don’t even know about. I repeat, If you are not informed, just keep shut....
If you aren’t ignorant, you would never try to compare any accredited university here in the US with Unilag and your Covenant University....you are only exposing your ignorance further.

Finally, my advice to prospective applicants. Just ensure that your school/program is accredited, get the right skill sets in your desired field, build a very good resume and you will be good for job/internships opportunities here. Those so called lowly ranked school will help you unleash your potential that you might never discover if you keep waiting in Nigeria to get into the top/Ivy League schools.

freudianslip:
For those that won't show up in school..


USCIS Changing Policy on Accrued Unlawful Presence by Nonimmigrant Students and Exchange Visitors

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today posted a policy memorandum changing how the agency will calculate unlawful presence for students and exchange visitors in F, J, and M nonimmigrant status, including F-2, J-2, or M-2 dependents, who fail to maintain their status in the United States.

This policy aligns with President Trump’s Executive Order: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States to enforce the immigration laws of the country and will go into effect on Aug. 9, 2018.

“USCIS is dedicated to our mission of ensuring the integrity of the immigration system. F, J, and M nonimmigrants are admitted to the United States for a specific purpose, and when that purpose has ended, we expect them to depart, or to obtain another, lawful immigration status,” said USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna. “The message is clear: These nonimmigrants cannot overstay their periods of admission or violate the terms of admission and stay illegally in the U.S. anymore.”

Individuals in F, J, and M status who failed to maintain their status before Aug. 9, 2018, will start accruing unlawful presence on that date based on that failure, unless they had already started accruing unlawful presence, on the earliest of any of the following:

The day after DHS denied the request for an immigration benefit, if DHS made a formal finding that the individual violated his or her nonimmigrant status while adjudicating a request for another immigration benefit;
The day after their I-94 expired; or
The day after an immigration judge or in certain cases, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), ordered them excluded, deported, or removed (whether or not the decision is appealed).
Individuals in F, J, or M status who fail to maintain their status on or after Aug. 9, 2018, will start accruing unlawful presence on the earliest of any of the following:

The day after they no longer pursue the course of study or the authorized activity, or the day after they engage in an unauthorized activity;
The day after completing the course of study or program, including any authorized practical training plus any authorized grace period;
The day after the I-94 expires; or
The day after an immigration judge, or in certain cases, the BIA, orders them excluded, deported, or removed (whether or not the decision is appealed).
Individuals who have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence during a single stay, and then depart, may be subject to three-year or 10-year bars to admission, depending on how much unlawful presence they accrued before they departed the United States. Individuals who have accrued a total period of more than one year of unlawful presence, whether in a single stay or during multiple stays in the United States, and who then reenter or attempt to reenter the United States without being admitted or paroled are permanently inadmissible.

Those subject to the three-year, 10-year, or permanent unlawful presence bars to admission are generally not eligible to apply for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status to permanent residence unless they are eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or another form of relief.

This policy memorandum is updating Chapter 40.9.2 of the USCIS Adjudicator’s Field Manual.

USCIS is accepting comments on the policy memorandum. The 30-day public comment period begins today and closes on June 11, 2018. For complete information on the comment process, visit the Policy Memoranda for Comment page.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis), and Facebook (/uscis).

Please do you have the source of this information?

Anyone coming to TAMUK for fall 2018 and looking for an accommodation off campus, send me a pm.
I have a nice and affordable space in my apartment, contact me for more details if interested.

Quoran:
So I think it is the right time to share my complete testimony

Dream.Believe.Achieve.

(Pardon my errors).

This is amazing!!!!
You deserve it all, weldone bro.
I wish you all the best in the remaining processes to enter Amelika

nelem:

industrial engineering....graduate studies

Considering the timelines in applying, getting admission decision, getting I-20, going to the embassy for visa, etc.....you may not be able to meet up with the whole processes considering the school’s resumption time in August. However, if you feel you can meet up, you may give a try.

Coxtie:
your I-20 will never be released to any of your family members.. it will only be given to you and you only.. don’t ever try to send your I-20 via FedEx or DHL directly because it might be delayed or get missing.. and the school is never responsible for the missing of any I-20.. then you can get another in the next semester after applying for another admission.. I strongly advice you to make use of eshipglobal.. your package will be delivered in 3-5days at maximum..blessings

Why those claims? Do you know someone who lost his/her I-20 via this means That you got you I-20 via eshipglobla doesn’t mean it’s the only safe and reliable means of getting an I-20 from your school here to Nigeria.....eshipglobal is actually the most expensive way to do this.
During my time, I had my I-20 sent to someone in my school and then paid DHL to pick it up from the guy. It arrived within 3-5days and I paid only about 22k for this process...
Some schools may not allow DHL to pick up I-20 directly from them, like my school.....so I had to authorize my school to first send it to someone in the school, and then arranged for DHL pick up.

nelem:


hi bro, how're you doing?
will it be advisable to still apply to tamuk for fall 18 (i know the deadline for submission is around June 15).
your thought will be appreciated.
Thanks

I’m doing great and thanks for asking.
Yes. You can still apply to Tamuk for fall 2018. However, your chances of getting the graduate scholarship and out-of-state tuition waiver would be slim. Again, it depends on the program you are applying to....what program do you intend applying to?

Glocal1:
I am glad to see this bro and I wish you the very best.

Thanks bro. I wish you same too

BiggyB242:


What School Sir?

Texas A&M University-Kingsville

Glocal1:
How is studies bro? I trust you are doing great. Hope you are now fully -funded. I wish you the best.

Boss!
Study is going smoothly, and I’m doing very well. Thanks for asking....
Trust you’re doing great too? I landed a GRA position few months after my arrival, 20hrs per week and it came with out-of-state tuition waiver, health insurance and monthly stipends. God has been faithful bro!
What’s good, how ur own side?

Pampaya009:
Good morning and happy Sunday to you all.

Transcript:
HND & ND in Electrical and electronic engineering
GPA: 3.51/4.00 (WES evaluation)
Status: fresh graduate
GRE & TOEFL : preparing

Focus:
Direct PhD program with full funding and RA/TA

Schools on my list:
Rensselaer polytechnic institute
University of Texas as Austin
Illinois institute of technology
Georgia institute of technology
New Jersey institute of technology
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
University of Florida
Utah State University
Montana state university at bozeman
University of Mississippi
West Virginia university Montgomery

Question: Please I need gurus in the house to help me reduce these schools to best 6 and 4 respectively. I'm writing my GRE on Tuesday 10th of April, that's in 2days time. I will be sending my GRE score on the test day to the best 4 and I will be applying to best 6 in total.
I have you guys and I can't afford to make any silly mistakes. I want you to come up with the best 4/6 having in mind that my focus is direct PhD with full funding.

Please treat urgent as my test day is in 2days time.
Thanks God bless.

First, from those schools listed above, check their admission requirements to see which of them accept unofficial GRE scores for application review & admissions. I know RPI doesn’t require official GRE score from ETS in order to review your application...so for such school, don’t waste your money sending your GRE scores to them on exam day since you can always upload the unofficial score report to your application when the result becomes available on your profile. On the exam day, report your scores to schools that wouldn’t review your application without the official GRE straight from ETS.....by doing this, you’d save more on sending scores from ETS even after your test.

Now, since your focus is direct PhD from bachelors with full funding, I would suggest you consider some average schools considering your profile. Schools like UT Austin and Gatech are top notch, and for direct admission to PhD with funding, your profile also has to be top notch. I think Gatech even has a min GPA that u must have in order to be considered for funding and your GPA is a bit less than that.....you can check the details from their site. I’d suggest you give Gatech or UT Austin a try, perhaps not both. However, you can apply to both if you have too much money for graduate school applications. RPI is private and they are quite selective.
If I were you, I would have Montana State University on top of my list considering your focus. Also, West Virginia University, Mississippi State, and NJIT, then the very good universities too: UofFand UTK. You might also wanna throw one or two applications to the top notch schools....
Your list might look like this:
Montana state university at bozeman
West Virginia university Montgomery
New Jersey institute of technology
University of Mississippi
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
University of Florida

University of Texas as Austin
Georgia institute of Technology

Check those schools and identify the ones that accept unofficial GRE score for application review and act accordingly.

Disclaimer: This is only a suggestion. Your final choice depends wholly on you.
I wish you all the best in your GRE. Don’t forget to update us after your GRE with your scores.

tescoman90:


LEGEND OF THE SEEKER88

Longest time!

Boss! It’s been ages really! I have been busy, but I will try to be a bit more active now, at least once in a while
Graduate school for US no be beans ....how your side na? Hope things are going well with you over there?

It’s been a while fam. I’ve missed everyone here...
To the fall 2018 applicants, I wish you all the best with admissions/funding.

frostsc:
First off, I wish to thank everyone who has posted and commented in one capacity or the other on this forum. Without you, this would not have been a reality. I stumbled on this forum by chance and at which time, I knew nothing about the GRE or study abroad. Of course I knew that people do study abroad, but I was not too cognitive of the process and all until I got here and was inspired by the various success stories.

Like my fore fathers here, I registered with B.Y Mafit and that was the singular wise choice I made cos everything revolves around them. I attended the free TOEFL and Free GRE classes. Got the Magoosh account, Kaplan Text, Official Guide and other materials given during lectures and group studies. Took the TOEFL classes for a month and the GRE classes for 6 weeks. Though free, they were very very vigorous. Wrote the TOEFL first. I'll share that experience another time since this is a GRE forum. I scored 110 though (There was a guy at Mafit who scored 115. Couldn't beat that target ). I did not read lots of textbooks. I just used the classes as my main study and did the additional practice recommended by our instructor (Enitan). Since that worked, I decided to use that principle for the GRE and it worked as well.

Wrote my GRE amidst lots of tension. The night before, I could not sleep. God punish tension . Had running stomach on the day of the exam and I started reciting all the psalms I could munster. . Was great though. The group discussions at Mafit helped, as we were fond of dealing with very difficult analytical questions. My advice is that while preparing, do not scratch the surface. Go really really deep. The more complex questions you tackle, the faster it would be to tackle the easier ones. Also, be true and sincere with yourself. For me, after I registered with BY Mafit, I didnt pick a date till I was well into the lectures and knew exactly what time I needed to be fully ready.

At the end, I scored 164 on the verbal and 162 on the quant. I know of a guy at Mafit (Dada) who scored 166 and 158 respectively. I already mailed my school and I was told I have the chances of getting full funding. I have sent other documents to them prior to this.

Once again, thank you all for helping nudge me in the right path. Now lets wait for the final decision on funding and start fasting so the VO will be nice . I sent this to Mafit to post but I guess they didn't so I had to sign up to post it myself. My advice for everyone would be to be focused and have a clear target and pursue it vigorously. Also, set aside everything to focus on this. It means a lot and it could change your life story.

Great Scores!!! Weldone!!!!....

Mayorboi:


Ahaa!! yes my brother.
500 cap cum Hall of Mercy you are def a Futoite.
Are you a Civilian?

Great Futoites! Watching you all in 3-D

RexCheeng:
Hearty congratulations to masterforceII and witgig. You have done well! Thanks for giving back to the society.

Please, who has an idea of how to upload a secure document? Or how to remove the security.

A school is requesting that I upload my GRE and TOEFL but the one I downloaded from ets' website is secured and when I try to upload, it gives an error.

Who has experienced this?

Hey RexCheeng. how's the application going?

Concerning the error you encountered while trying to upload your GRE/TOEFL score to your application page. Open the pdf copy of the score report from ETS with Adobe Reader. Try using the "Take a snapshot" option under the edit menu in the Adobe Reader to crop the relevant section of your score report, paste this cropped immage on MS word and adjust accordingly. Then convert back to pdf format from the word format and upload your stuff. Make sure you capture the relevant sections while cropping.

I used this method to send just my GRE scores to schools without showing the schools where I had earlier sent my scores...

Lemme know if this works.

tescoman90:


Legend of the seeker88

Baba, I hail oo. How that side?

Scholastica16:
Seeker88, we see you. We'd be needing you every now and then.

Cheers mate.

Always at your service boss!

Phew!!!.....It's been a while. My journey to the US was very smooth....no hitch at all! Sorry I didn't get the opportunity to share in details my travel experience. It's really nothing different from what folks have shared here. Nothing spectacular to share....

And then, it's been very tasking here!!! I have missed so many pages here and would definitely not have time to catch up. Homework here and there . And for my other fellow Fall 2017 hopefuls, trust your dreams came through eventually.....are you guys also getting the kind of workloads I get here It's quite overwhelming ..... Also, to those Fall 2017 hopefuls who didn't make it eventually, don't give up on your dreams, keep trying because it's worth the trials.....

BTW, I give kudos to those who still make out time to keep this thread running despite their busy schedule here....especially those currently studying here, e no easy! , una do well! I just had time to sneak in here today, though I will keep checking in as often as I can.

Finally, I'm so glad to read from scholastica16 again after such a long break from this thread. Welcome back boss!.....
And to the prospective test takers, I wish you all the best in your tests.

God bless you all!

Phew!!!.....It's been a while. My journey to the US was very smooth....no hitch at all! Sorry I didn't get the opportunity to share in details my travel experience. It's really nothing different from what folks have shared here. Nothing spectacular to share....

And then, it's been very tasking here!!! I have missed so many pages here and would definitely not have time to catch up. Homework here and there . And for my other fellow Fall 2017 hopefuls, trust your dreams came through eventually.....are you guys also getting the kind of workloads I get here It's overwhelming ..... Also, to those Fall 2017 hopefuls who didn't make it eventually, don't give up on your dreams, keep trying because it's worth the trials.....

BTW, I give kudos to those who still make out time to keep this thread running despite their busy schedule here....especially those currently studying here, e no easy! , una do well! I just had time to sneak in here today, though I will keep checking in as often as I can.

God bless you all!

Congrats to all those who recently got their visas approved.

Anyone coming this summer to houston should beep me
Free ride and one week accommodation including free ride throughout the one week.

@ brightify, Please I sent you a pm.

ark4sunshine:
Not all banks. UBA and access bank gives PTA to students with a one way ticket.

I was in AccessBank today to make inquiries on the PTA thing. I was told they used to give PTA to students with one way flight, but not anymore.. .

Okesima24:
Hello All, I'm impressed to find this platform and read some of the success and failures. Indeed it is an eye opener and I wished I had known about this platform before now.
However, I have a serious issue. I had an interview for student visa last week and was denied, but somehow the VO didn't return my passport to me and by the time I found out and asked them to call inside and get it for me I was told it's not there. Pls how can I get it as I am certain she didn't return it to me.
I also plan to reapply as soon as I can find my passport and will be needing your help on how to prepare better and get the visa.
Thank you.

Sorry my response is coming late.

If u have not sorted this out, I'd suggest you first visit the US travel site to track your passport : http://ustraveldocs.com/ng/ng-niv-passportretrieve.asp
You will need to enter ur passport number in d right place within the web page to track your passport. If the passport is really with them, then you will see the comment "Your passport is still with the US Consulate/Embassy", if not, some other comments will be displayed. You could also check this from your visa scheduling page when you log in.

In addition, you may also want to check your visa status online. I can't get the exact link for visa status checking, u can type something like this on google to get d link "how do I check my US visa status Nigeria "......so with this, you will be sure is visa status is issued, denied, administrative processing, pending, etc.

If the visa status is actually "denied", then you may want to contact the consulate/embassy to directly inquire about the whereabouts of your passport if it was certainly not given to u by the VO.

Please let us know the outcome.

drhopeful:
Jesu! See grammar oh! Bros, please take it easy. Most of them don't fit with the sentences.

ruxxz:
VISA Approved today at Abuja. 7:30am batch. I'v been mostly silent here. My transcript is as follows:


He demanded for her financial statement, showed him and he approved my application. I'd love to thank everyone on this thread for making things easy. Everything you need to succeed at the embassy is present here. My piece of advice to hopefuls is that; settle everything mentally. Be prayerful and remember the Consulate officers are humans; eliminate all forms of fear. seeker88 and chrisdavinci during ..thanks for helping me out during my application. Thanks all

Congrats baba! Glad you were able to meet up eventually, .....and here u are with your visa . See you at d Javelina Nation. .....