₦airaland Forum

ponpon:
get a good book that has a lot of gre words, finish the book or a graduate level book, there is one I just came across and it's really great. 'the Military writings of Mao Tse Tsung. Or read economist and nytimes everyday, take note of the words and learn how to apply them.

Time2Smile:
Whatever research you do in your field would be the research experience you need. It is about being proactive during the course of the research. Learning experimental designs, methodologies, reading and researching previous literatures, understanding data analysis. Your supervisor and senior colleagues are in the best position to put you through.

Attending conferences, seminars and reading publications in your field also helps in generating ideas and keeping abreast of latest trends in your field.

biikeys:
Check the website I posted earlier, and search by field/occupation under companies...that should give you a very good idea.

Time2Smile:
Whao.
I would do my best to answer your question but I can't cover all bases in one post. One thing all prospective students should have in mind is that a good, or even great, GRE score is not enough by itself to secure admission and funding from a good school. Other parts of the application such as GPA, SOP, research experience also play important roles. I would add unequivocally that an important aspect of the application that is often overlooked(especially in this part of the world) is the recommendation letters. A glowing recommendation letter can be a difference between an acceptance and a rejection. It is a n opportunity for admission committee to gain insight into some of the applicants traits that might otherwise not show up in other parts of the application.


That being said, A great GRE score significantly improves the chances of admission. On why I was accepted late in the admission cycle, It was due to a number of reasons.

First, I didn't start and submit my applications early enough. I only decided to apply around November and could not get an early GRE date so I was forced to write in January. By then the application for most schools had closed.

Secondly, When I started the application process, I didn't know much about PhD in the US and frankly was not interested in US. I was looking at Canada, Germany and some other countries. But as I was preparing to write the GRE to boost my chances in the other countries I started reading about US admission from this thread and the students visa thread. So, I resolved to submit application to a couple of US schools since I meet the minimum requirements for admission. Consequently, I only applied initially to two(2) US schools, LSU Health Science Center New Orleans (which I regarded as a safe school but I was rejected) and University of Houston (Don't have a decision from them application still under review!!! Can you imagine?).

Therefore, I wouldn't really say my decision was late because it took University of Texas about 6 weeks to accept me after scrambling to submit my application on the deadline due to the reticence of my referees to submit recommendation on time. And I believe my GRE and GPA played a great role in getting me accepted. I say this because the Graduate coordinator requested for another recommendation letter after the initial committee review of my application because he said the original three didn't say much about my research skills( An euphemism for they are useless). At that moment I knew I had a good chance if I submit a sparkling LOR, and lo and behold I was accepted when I got another referee to submit a letter I helped him to draft. (It still took two weeks to get him to acquiesce to my request).

I believe you and other prospective applicants can glean some knowledge from my story. But, I think it is worth listing some of the lessons I learnt.

1. Apply early before the deadline and Spread your risk. Apply to at least 6 schools containing a mixture of reach and safe schools.

2. Before you apply to a school know how the admission process in the school works. LSU probably rejected me because I am out of state, it was later I read complaints from other Americans. I didn't have any business applying there I the first place( I am talking especially about the health Science Center). My application to U of Houston was doomed when I couldn't secure a faculty support because it is Professors there that admit PhD student to their labs in the Department of Biochemistry.

3. Don't overlook any part of your application. A great GRE score and GPA are nice, but it may be your SOP and letters that clich the admit.

4. Work on your letters with your referees. A letter from a Dr. might be better than that of a Professor if the said Dr. writes a personal letter filled with anecdotes that shows he/she know you well and hold you in high esteem. (Your recommenders need to only write one letter each and just personalise by changing the name for each school). Also, Institutional email address gives more credibility compared to yahoo or Gmail accounts.

5. Start a draft of your SOP as soon as possible and let a number of people review it. The final version would be significantly different from the version you start with in most cases.

6. Like I have said before, the work that goes into securing admission and full funding is usually understated. However, the good thing is that it is a process with numerous steps and all applicants should take it one step at a time.

7. Last but not the least, Pray for favour, Grace and guidance.

I would add more tips as I remember them.

NB; At the risk of being pedantic, I would like to say that GRE verbal is more than learning vocabulary, it is the contextual meaning of the words in sentences that is being tested. It is always good to heed the advice I read somewhere "Write to express not to impress" in order not to come across as ostentatious.

biikeys:
I would go for a more marketable course if I were you

biikeys:
I would go for a more marketable course if I were you

biikeys:
I would go for a more marketable course if I were you

biikeys:
I would go for a more marketable course if I were you

happyday:
Sent you a PM

biikeys:
It looked like the initial post triggered some bot..but the website is http://www.myvisajobs.com/Reports

Yeah..@bolded typical of lot of companies. But as long as you're in a STEM course, you should still be able to get a company. Another thing is, it's usually faster with small companies that file than for big ones where you have wait in line in many cases. Some people leave big companies for smaller ones just because of that.

biikeys:
It looked like the initial post triggered some bot..but the website is http://www.myvisajobs.com/Reports

Yeah..@bolded typical of lot of companies. But as long as you're in a STEM course, you should still be able to get a company. Another thing is, it's usually faster with small companies that file than for big ones where you have wait in line in many cases. Some people leave big companies for smaller ones just because of that.

please sir, what of a course like to exercise science, I know its a STEM course, but after googling it, I don't really see many job opportunities there, please enlighten me more, thanks

happyday:
Apparently, there're threads for that. not this. Or you risk being banned or your posts deleted.

Johnolukolade:
Hello Fams. I'm looking to put in for Kinesiology, Exercise Science option. I wanna know what schools gives MSc on that and how lucrative that is in the US. I'll need replies soon pls.
CC. lagosismyhome., walspring and host of other dedicated gurus.

happyday:
If you're getting a Pharmacology PhD, funding shouldn't be your concern. Focus on getting admitted. You can't change your GPA anymore, but here are what's within your reach. Think deeply of ways on how to make your research experiences stand out (both in your undergrad final year & the 1 yr stint). What you did matters, but how you present what you did matters much more. Look for stellar Statements of Purpose written for PhD applications, and find ways to creatively adapt yours likewise. Also, how do your undergrad courses tie in with your PhD research interests? Are there courses you did in your final years of undergrad that made you want to go into Pharmacology? Think of ways to bridge the gaps between your MCB and Pharm interests, so the switch would make sense!

Score as high as you can on your GRE. The higher the better. Get three lecturers who can write good letters to recommend you.

Those will strengthen your profile. Search for schools that fit your research interests. Sorry, I don't know of any safe schools for Pharm. PhDs.

iCool:
Good morning people, just left the Lagos Consulate.


I am Texas bound! Oluwa has answered!!!

sirRiddy:
You may send a pm to Onoa, she is in a Nutrition science grad program.
https://www.nairaland.com/onoa

OluDare01:
With your profile, you can go for Public Health. You don't need a dissertation topic for now, just try and highlight your research interest. Pm me

OluDare01:
With your profile, you can go for Public Health. You don't need a dissertation topic for now, just try and highlight your research interest. Pm me

OluDare01:
Hey! Why are you depressed? Do you need someone to talk to
You've got a good profile and I see no reason why you shouldn't get a full ride for a PhD.

OluDare01:
Hey! Why are you depressed? Do you need someone to talk to
You've got a good profile and I see no reason why you shouldn't get a full ride for a PhD.

Time2Smile:
That is a stellar GPA.
OK since Public health is your passion why didn't you study it in your MSc? I believe Master in Public health admission is broad and take students from different undergraduate courses( at least UI MPH). With your background in Health Science you should be able to find schools that would give you admission into Public health PhD program.

This is where you master degree comes in, Do not treat as an afterthought,. Admission committees know how to spot exceptional student, So the higher your MSc GPA the better. It would be useful if you can also garner some research experience during your MSc.

I believe there are schools out there, A Google query such as "PhD public health in US University" should give useful results. On the other hand, if you have specific school in mind you can search for example "John Hopkins University PhD Public health"

Let us know what you think.

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.

uncleabbey:
Samuel Ajayi Crowther was captured by Muslim Fulani during the Fulani/Oyo wars and he was sold with his mother and toddler brother to Portuguese slave buyers. However, the ship was intercepted by British Royal Navy and the slaves were released by taking them to Sierra Leone. This was where the Anglican Church Missionary Society took over the educating of young Ajayi.
One of his foremost achievements, apart from taking Christianity to the Niger Delta parts of modern Nigeria, Ajayi Crowther translated the English Bible into Yoruba. This can thus be said to be the first medium through which the Christian Satan/Devil/Lucifer was thus interpreted as the Yoruba Eshu.
Ajayi Crowther was also the one who compiled in 1843 the English-Yoruba Dictionary upon which so many others have been patterned till today. The word ‘Bara’ in the dictionary reads out the meaning thus: “god of mischief, the devil, Ifa.” Here it is plain that the devil and Ifa are the same to Ajayi.
Bara is a word use in qualifying Eshu in some of Eshu’s oriki poems: “Bara ti o logun ika/ To so ile ana re di ahoro (Bara who does not have evil medicine but turns his in-laws home into desolation). Bara l’abelekun sunkun ki eru o ba elekun/ Bi elekun ba n sokun, Laaroye a ma sun eje (Bara is the one who weeps with those weeping and they will be frightened by the time they see Eshu/Laaroye/Bara weeping blood). Bara ni abonimi su mi ki eru ba onimi/ Bonimi ba n su imi/ Laaroye a ma su ifun (The one defecating will be full of fright by the time he sees Eshu defecating his intestines). That is Eshu for you, a god that overdoes things in a frightening way… a prankster.
On the other side though, Eshu is the link between man and heaven – to the Yoruba. He is a strong god and one who has to be pacified so that he takes his tricks elsewhere, and moreover he does not allow trouble or evil to be done to us. If the Bible version is the same as this Eshu whom Yoruba add his name to the prefix of their children at birth e.g. Eshu-Biyi, Eshu-Tunde, Eshu-gbayi, and they even have a shrine of upside-down earthenware bowl with a hole in the bottom, to venerate this god, then does this mean the Yoruba worship the same Lucifer/Devil that rebelled against God?
It is clear that even the translated Yoruba-English dictionary in which Bara is also attached to Ifa shows that the translators have little or no knowledge about the Yoruba deities. Ifa and Eshu are not the same. While Ifa is the mainstream religion of the Yoruba brought to earth (like Jesus or Paul brought Christianity) by Orunmila who lived in Oke Igeti in today’s Osun State, Eshu had never lived like a man with children or wives… he is a god with functions in heaven. That is why another oriki says of him as “O san sokoto penpe/ Onibode Olorun.” (One who wears short pants and guards the way between man and the Heavens)
Let us objectively look into the function of Eshu who is a fierce god, like Thor or Sango but not evil like Hades. Eshu has to be constantly sacrificed to in Yoruba belief because he is the one between us and the other gods. Eshu has the power to decree any god not to harm a mortal and can also look away if the offending mortal refuses to perform sacrifice to ward of evil. Eshu does not cast evil, he is merely performing his duties to ensure that no man is unjustly attacked by evil.
There are eight forms of evil in Ifa philosophy, these are Death, Pestilence, Loss, Paralysis, Trouble, Curse, Bondage and Iniquity. All these eight are under the supervision of Eshu according to God (Olodumare) who placed Eshu in that role to monitor their activities. These eight are always trying to hinder the progress of man and this is why any sacrifice or rites performed on earth to ward evil must have Eshu’s Fifth share since he alone has authority to tell the Eight evil to desist from harming a particular person.
These items of sacrifice are mostly edible stuff that sometimes have to be shared to the person’s neighbours so that in their merriment they pray for him as well, it is also a form of tithes receipt for the babalawo and lastly some of the items are used on the person sacrificing; There is an example in a verse of Ifa where an albino called Ondese was asked to sacrifice on a particular day against death. He was asked to use Buje (a plant which has a juice used for tattooing) for sacrifice. The priests then used the Buje to rub him all over. On the appointed day Death came to seek him, Death could not recognize that the man who has been rubbed all over with Buje is the albino he sought; so Death left and Ondese lived longer.
The Christian Satan is a rebel; the Yoruba Eshu would never think of derailing from his functions. It is only the witches and sorcerers that Eshu has no power over and this is where Ifa too says that it is only one’s Ori (head/soul) that can protect one against Dark/Evil Magic cast by witches. Eshu has nothing to do with cursing man or turning man against God. He serves as mediator between us and the heavens. There is no record in Ifa that Eshu rebels against Olodumare, besides, is it not demeaning the power of God that the omniscient created something It had not foreseen would rebel and cause trouble for mankind in such huge scale?
Ajayi Crowther could have translated the Bible Satan as satani. He was a boy of 12 when he was stolen from Osogun, his village in Iseyin, Oyo, and had very little knowledge, if any, of Eshu and his complicated functions. If Eshu were the Devil, Ifa would totally have been upturned into evil and Yoruba would not be one of the most enlightened race in Africa today. We would have been submerged in the Devil’s evil.
Eshu is not evil. But today, millions of Yoruba have seen Eshu as the Christian devil with the influence of the translation and the Yoruba Bible. The Yoruba dictionary clearly shows that elitism crept into the translating pen of the translators as a result of their little knowledge of Yoruba spiritual beliefs, which Christianity taught them is the Devil’s belief. Let us remove prejudice and be objective… Eshu shields man from evil and can also expose man to evil, but he is not evil. Neither is he contesting power with God.
It is the Christian God that is a white man with white beard and a golden crown… The Yoruba God (Olodumare or Olorun) has no form. It has never been described… Olodumare is an existence in the transcendence. Something no deity can contest power with. Evil is also formless, that is why the Eight Evil were placed under the authority of Eshu to protect man, but Witches can use their craft to tap into the evil energy but unfortunately they are not subjected to Eshu and difficult to pacify them. God allowed evil but restrained evil, and only the karma of man brings them upon him. Even if witches cast evil on a man, his Ori is his last bunker to defend him and this Ori also depends largely on the past karma he has accrued.
It is ridiculous to say God’s creation is rivalling him to take earth when there are thousands of planets within and outside our Solar System. When the Bible was written with this view of throwing devil into earth, there was little idea of the galaxy. If the bible were written today, the Genesis and Revelation would have been written differently. Lastly, Eshu cannot take or give man soul, like the Christian Devil can. Eshu does not need a soul or reside in any Hell. He is an important minister of God. Those who perform devil worship and the Satanists perform a lot of human sacrifice and mortification… but Yoruba do not sacrifice humans to Eshu or require to mortify their bodies.


https://takeupanarm./2011/04/14/is-the-yoruba-eshu-same-as-the-christian-devil/#comments