₦airaland Forum

Sarcasticmofo:
hello, thanks for the responses so far.

First of all the remaining cost of living is about $8K and it's me and my guy that both got the full tuition Scholarship and we're planning to stay alone in one room apartment for this first year which costs $500 per month...

The work study program of the school is $9.50 per hour for a maximum of 20 hours per week and that is $190 per week and $760 per month. Then for two of us that is $1520 per month. Neglecting alot of hours we'd have to work in Summer and still going by normal 20hours, that is $18240 for both of us at least for a year. Our rent for a year is $6000 and feeding let's say $5000 combined that's leaving us with $7240.

So the loan I wanted to take was about $2000 each for both of us, so that we can use it for small feeding, on ground transport and cover our settling there. Once we settle there and start work study. We would definitely be fine... Not to mention outside scholarships and grants.

I also don't have any relative in the US. I am also in STEM

Hey,

First of all, regarding on campus jobs, one plus one does not always equals two. That you are eligible to work 20 weekly hours on campus doesn't mean you will automatically get a job on campus upon resumption. You might even get one and you will be lucky to do 11 weekly hours. Am about to complete my second semester and am still seeking my first on campus job.

Secondly, depending on the location of your school it might be difficult to see an apartment where you and someone will share a room as most times you might be living with other flatmates that won't allow such. You might see a studio apartment that will be above your budget and the owners might not allow more than one person. Reality sometimes changes when you become physically present.

Outside scholarships and grants won't just fall on your lap either.

All this dollars calculations that you did varies as some weeks you might work less hours and some weeks you might work more. Nothing is constant in this country

It's best to have a very very good financial plan before you make your move and don't just settle on speculations and heresay.

regards.

Gospelozy:
Good evening my people.
I got this message from a lecturer. But I don't know where to get the receipt of the order I placed as ets did not give me that.
Should I screenshot my order from my gre page showing the school then send? Or what?
Please how do I send the receipt.
Thank you in anticipation.

Lolz. He didn't mean a physical receipt. All he wants to see is where the school is listed among your GRE "school recipients".

I think that should be enough

lockupman:
Hello my people. I have a Bachelor degree in Economics and I want to do a Masters in information Systems. Please can you guys suggest a school that accept low or no GRE and whose program has people without IT foundation in mind. Thanks

Hey,

First, most information systems program are dominated by people with no foundation in IT. The difference between information systems and other IT degrees like information technology or computer science is that it is a specialized business degree uniquely designed for everyone irrespective of educational background. Right now some schools are ditching their traditional MBA programs in favor of information systems, business analysis and quantitative analysis program.

Since you have a degree in economics, you are a perfect fit for a masters in information systems. Look for schools that does this program in their business school and fire on but you might really want to rethink your "low or no GRE" mentality. This field is a highly quantitative field where they crunch data and figures using regression and correlation analysis especially if you opt for the analytics option and so the admission committe would want to see your quantitative skill reflected in your GRE quant score. My tier 2 low ranked school requested for a GRE quantitative score of 168. Just rethink it.

This field is not really funded but it is worth every penny and the stress and it's STEM too. it also has lots of creative options and it disguises as an IT degree even when most folks in the program don't know how to write any line of code.

You may find this link interesting : https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/articles/2019-03-21/how-stem-courses-can-enhance-your-mba

Hope this helps you.

N/B: Sorry I can't help you with lists of schools. You may have to search this on your own as tuition and many criteria play a big role here.

Callmeibironke:
Hello,

Can one earn a Master's degree in a different course from the one in B.sc.

Microbiology - B.Sc.
Looking at Data Science - M.Sc.

No working experience in data science

Yea you can but be ready to take some prerequisites courses before you will be allowed to start the main program.

Most schools don't do data science as a stand alone program. Only few schools do and they are some of the Top schools in the US and they are very very expensive. So be prepared to break the bank for this program.

Alternatively, you can go for Computer Information Systems in a business school. Most schools that does CIS in their business school have business analytics option that will eventually place you on a data science career path with the added bonus of you having an IT degree thereby increasing your job search options.

Please note that this path is highly quantitative so be prepared to take the GRE and do well in the quant section and this field is not usually funded so you have to be financially prepared as well

Hope this helps you.

regards

N/B: If you took courses in statistics in your undergraduate program good for you, else more prerequisites for you

fairheart:
I will not reply...
This is what happened when you take things out of context. I was not attacking you; I was just saying it's better she say why she want to switch before you start telling her what to say and all. If you know me, you'll understand I don't have time commenting unnecessary stuffs here. But I needed to say something about this one.

Lolz....Laugh wan kee me for here

Predstan:
When did you submit an application to CSU. I chat with a representative who states that it cannot be uploaded. I have to mail directly to the University. Csuohio.edu.

There is no space provided for Uploads

Lolz, I applied since 2017. If the current process is to email the unofficial transcript and test scores to them, good.

I just logged into my own application profile and dug up that screenshot. Sorry for the confusion.

Cheers

Predstan:
Hi... ai could not Upload unofficial transcripts. They want it sent by mail. I am not sure they accept unofficial transcripts

Looks like you have to submit the application first before uploading documents

Predstan:
Hi... ai could not Upload unofficial transcripts. They want it sent by mail. I am not sure they accept unofficial transcripts

They do. I submitted my official transcript when I resumed. Try to reduce the size of your transcript. You can use paint software to reduce the size of each picture then convert all the pictures to one pdf file online. Seems I had the same problem during my application too.

If you can, make sure the pdf file is not up to 2MB. Don't over reduce the size that it becomes blur o. If you can't, send me a pm, and i can help you resize it.

Regards.

Yildiz:
Thank you. I have accepted. Its Electrical Engineering. Can I please PM you?

Yea, sure

Yildiz:
Good morning all,
I recently sent a prof. at cleveland state university an email for an opening in his lab but he did not response. Just today I saw an email for the department Chair offering me a teaching assistantship. The offer came as an attached pdf file with my name on the letter. He also sent me an advert to apply to the department. On the teaching assistantship pdf, part of the conditions is for me to apply to the the school. I am just confused about the whole thing. He gave me 9 days to accept the offer.
First of all his email checks out on the department website. How should I proceed please.

Hey buddy,

Congrats man, please waste no time in applying.

Am in Cleveland state university and if you have any question or doubts, please feel free to pm me.

I don't know the department the profs contacting you are in but if it's biology, I can vouch that it's genuine. Biology department in this school is a cheerful giver of funding once you have a decent profile. I have a Nigerian friend on full funding in the department.

The application fee is quite cheap ($40), they accept unofficial GRE results and unofficial transcript during application. TOEFL is waived for all applicants from Nigeria. You literally can start and finish the application in less than 30minutes.

All in all, the final decision is yours to make.

cheers.

bracelum:
There's nothing skilled or intertwining in your post. You couldn't even explain what you wrote until someone else did. So, I don't know where the skillful or the intertwining or the epistles are coming from.

Again, let me restate that I don't even remember if we had a previous discussion. Even after this moment, I might not remember your username again (probably except you remind me again). I saw something misleading in your comment and highlighted it. So stop sounding like I have you in mind cos I really don't remember if we had a previous conversation.

No need talking about this. Let's not derail the thread.

Ok, now am daft and stupid that I don't even know the meaning of what I wrote or why I wrote it. Keep the insults coming

If you've asked politely, I might have answered you but you didn't and it's been your way of undermining people's contribution on this thread. This is neither your first, second nor third time. Its bad, You need to change.

No one is an island of knowledge, you need to live and let others live. You mustn't put mouth into all conversation. Sometimes you let sleeping dogs lie. Once again I say live and let others live

Au revoir, adios

bracelum:
Lol, you're even counting it.

Honestly, I don't even remember you. I can't tell if we've previously had a conversation except I check my chat history. I commented on your post cos I found it misleading for many people who might desire to study at NC.

Again, I won't throw more light on this until you clearly define the context at which you called NC a dead state.

Don't bother counting how many times we've had conversations. If I find any reason to comment on any post, I will do so.

If you don't understand the contextual meaning of a word, you ask politely. That's how matured and intelligent people behave and not by first throwing shades before asking arrogantly.

Some people are skilled with writing, intertwining words into sentences and sentences into epistles that you have to read deeply and collectively to get the full understanding of the whole epistle they are writing and not just taking it a few words or sentence seperately.

And you don't have to quote other people's contribution, you can contribute your own opinion instead of sitting and waiting for others to contribute so you can come and find misleading words in their contributions to highlight.

Again if you have read my post without the intent to find misleading words, you would have easily understood the contextual meaning of the "dead". It isn't rocket science or machine language and you don't need data mining to see it.

Hope this helps you

warm regards

femi312:
If I were you, I will shoot for a Phd not 2nd masters. Now to your question, your age is not a barrier so far you can convince the VO while you are going for a second masters. However, how do you intend to fund the masters? Just like someone said, NC is not like Texas or Cali or Newyork etc where some people hustle to raise money. NC is dead in that regard. Like I said, if you have no legal means of getting the money, just reapply for a Phd.

Oya bracelum, food don ready for you o. Bring your dagger and sword and come and call this "NC is dead" a careless and uncultured statement. Lolz

bracelum:
Here comes another careless and uncultured statement. I would like you to define what you mean by "dead" before I speak further.

This is the second time in a row that you are attacking my post for no just reason. I've said it before, you don't have to attack others to feel accomplished.

Using the word careless and uncultured is an insult to me. I know when am being insulted. If you cannot grasp the contextual meaning of words in my sentences, please don't quote my posts. i beg you in the name of whatever you believe in.
I like to express myself with words, leave it like that for me

While i was typing this post, i had this feeling that you would come looking for faults and here you are but i won't be dragged into another exchange of words like the last time, and please keep waiting for me to define what I mean by "dead", Fall 2019 PhD intakes go graduate and you go still dey wait.

Shalom

dele31:
Hello guys.

I just got admission into North Carolina State University for a masters program. I didn't write GRE as I used the MSc. degree I had before as part of my supporting documents. On the admission letter, it was like a conditional admission as it was clearly stated that I have to pass a certain course within my first 2 semesters. Although, the supervisor I secured already promised me funding but its like it will be difficult with a conditional admission. My questions are these:

1. I have been sent the the sponsors form for the I-20 form stating clearly that I should attach an account containing about $30,100. I am not going to fund myself but i can run around to secure one but may not be that of any of my relative with same name, will I not run into trouble securing visa as a result of a conditional admission?

2. I am above 35yrs still going for an MSc. won't there be a great challenge defending that during visa interview.

3. Is it advisable to continue with it because I don't want to put much effort and get disappointed after.

Please guys, advise me.

Ok, let's assume you run around, get people's statement of account to use to get i20, then you use the same statement of account to get visa, then you run around for flight money and come to yankee.

How do you intend to pay tuition of $9k per semester. Bro, don't be deceived, you can't hustle $18k to pay a session school fees doing menial jobs o plus I heard North Carolina is a dead state. Remember you will still take care of your accommodation, bills and et cetera. Do your calculations well o except you no really wan go school

You might not have trouble getting visa with conditional admission as most times the VO don't even look at admission letters. All they really care about is your i20. My admission letter wasn't requested in both my interviews.

You already have a masters degree and going for another masters, this might be a challenge o, but it's surmountable if you prepare well and grace dey your side.

You are above 35years, with a masters degree, why not shoot for a PhD.

This one you have to pass a certain course (s) and conditional admission, this smells like you will have to take prerequisites courses and with my experience taking prerequisites courses, that funding that you've been promised with mere words might not be coming anytime soon.

All in all, please do not come here with your masters degree and drop out of status or drop into community college. I just feel you can do better for yourself.

In my opinion, If you really want to go to school, look for funding from Nigeria or shoot for a PhD. Except you have ulterior motive.

I hope this helps you

Vickglam:
Hello everyone, i need your advice on this issue, i have bsc in computer science but i want to apply for BSC nursing in the US, what's my chance of getting a visa, thanks

Why move from masters in Computer science to Bsc in nursing.

You can still do your masters in Computer science and work in health care. Health care programming like HL7 and the likes are in high demand in the US right now except saving life and touching blood has suddenly became your calling after 4 years of studying computer science and a few semseter into a masters degree.

But if this switch is solely based on monetary rewards, then in my opinion, it is a bad decision. First, you can make as much money as a computer scientist as you will make as a nurse. Secondly, completing a nursing degree will cost you much more money and more years of your life, then you might need to take other professional courses to climb up the ladder in this field. With a master you can dream bigger and venture into new things easily.

From the interview perspective, it will likely be a miracle because it will be so hard to convince a VO on the sudden change from the perceived in demand computer science to nursing.

Towing the path someone earlier adviced you is logical but do you really want to do that? Do you have the financial backing to foot 4 years of studying nursing as an international student here?

I hope all this my blabbing helps you make the right decision shai. Success in whatever you choose to do

Daringtohope:
Hello everyone. I had my F-2 interview at Lagos Consulate on the 28th of January with my child and below is the transcript of what transpired.
VO: Pass your passport. I obliged.
VO: Which school is your husband studying.
Me: The University of “the state” in “city”.
VO: What is his program?
Me: PhD program
VO: When did he leave?
Me: He left on date, month, 2017.
VO: When did you get married?
Me: Mentioned date, month, 2014.
VO: How many children you do have?
Me: We have only one child and he is here with me.
VO: When will he finish his program.?
Me: I quickly used my hand to count and replied 2021/2022 because I know his PhD will take 4 to 5 years.
VO: How many years will you spend in the United States?
Me: I will like to be with my husband because it has been difficult since he left, my……
She cut me off, said sorry you are not qualified at this time and gave me rejection paper.
Note that the VO didn’t request for my I-20 and didn’t look at it. She didn’t ask for any other document. In fact, she wasn’t looking at me throughout the interview but was just typing. I would have liked to ask her why she denied me but it only came to my mind after I left.
Please help me scrutinize the transcript and suggest what I can do better. The denial has really been difficult for me to take. I do plan to reapply immediately and any suggestion will be useful. Thank you.

Like I said before, sometimes this embassy people just want you to come back again before they will grant you visa.

Let's paint a logical scenario where all visa applicants are genuine and have all documents, they cannot and will not grant everyone visa at the same time. They will grant some and deny some. So since you are genuine and have your documents, you just have to try try and try again. I believe you will be granted.

But please note this, the VO asked you how many years you will spend in the US, in my opinion, you should have given her a straight answer stating the number of years instead of trying to play a word game. It was an open and close question and so you should give an open and close answer.

Your husband is on a PhD program and so you should get your F2 visa it's easier for F2 applicant whose spouse is on a funded PhD program.

All in all, this might just be a straight attempt from the embassy to collect another 57600 from you. Dust yourself and apply again.

Hope this helps you.

yemyem4uall:
Hi guys, has anybody with HND got master degree admission and granted Visa to USA before? If yes, please, let me kno his testimony/transcript trend

Yea, Kirusky4life had her HND in naija but got admitted for masters in the US and got her visa too. I think I can remember her saying she got some scholarship too. I only fear you might have to evaluate your transcript using WES/ECE because from the little i know, not many schools admit applicants with HND
without external credential evaluation

I hope this helps you. You can pm Kirusky4Life for better guidance

Middy25:
Thank you so much for responding, but please can you suggest a better way I can put it? Here is my transcript:

Vo: Good morning
Me: Good morning
Vo: passport and i20 (I gave her)
Vo: purpose of visit?
Me: I want to spend my leave period with my husband
Vo: Why not B2 visa instead since you are going on a vacation
Me: Because I believe F2 will give me a chance of multiple entry. I can be able to travel to attend his graduation
I don't even understand what she said after this
Vo: Why didn't he come visit last summer
Me: I said because he was coming home for a job interview last year and he had to plan his visit around that time, and he came in September.
Vo: What do you do
Me: teacher
Vo: do you live alone?
Me: yes, in my husband's house
Vo: sorry.......
Gave me my passport
No other documents was asked.
Oh, another thing. I used a scanned copy of my i20 because my husband had to make a recent update about his GA, so the original didn't get to me on time, she frowned at this, asked why and I told her about the update. The update was made five days to my appointment( Saturday and Sunday inclusive)

Pls guys, I need your constructive criticism and advice on what I can do next. I am feeling so miserable. Thank you so much.

A B2 visa would also give you multiple entry chances too

In my opinion I think you should give some time before applying again so your vacation would have passed and you can then say you want to go and spend quality time with your spouse.

Visa interview is about eliminating any benefit of doubt. If you rush to apply again, it would seem as if you lied to a VO about even having a vacation and they might not give you the time to clear the doubt you've created in their mind.

Trust me, you don't want to be taken unaware with a comment like "2 weeks ago you were here and you told my colleague that you wanted to just spend your vacation with your spouse, now you saying you want to stay with your spouse for the entire duration of his studies". This could be misinterpreted to mean your are insincere with your intentions.

All in all, work on possible replies incase they bring up questions about your vacation and hope for the best. Visa interview is subjective and these VOs have different abilities and reason differently, so what might sell for VO x might not sell for VO y.

This is my own opinion.

GboyegaD:
I would not like us to argue on this and like I said, it is nice to weigh words. You used most and that alone is not a fair judgment of them.
Sincerely, I meant no harm and neither did I intend attacking your post. I used to think they were not as smart as us based on what I heard before going to study however, getting to the US, my perception changed.

Am sorry for not seeing the angle you were coming from. I only said that to pass a message to pinkandblue26 that not every VO would be smart enough to know that not all programs or schools request for standardized tests.

Sincerely, I understand better now and know that it is not right to make such a generalized statement. I would henceforth use "not all Americans are smart" whenever I want to make such comment. We learn everyday.

Apologies to everyone for derailing this thread and to bracelum for weighing words with you. All of those arguments weren't necessary.

One love peeps

bracelum:
Hahahahahahahahahhahahhahahahahahahahahaha

Dude, you never cease to amaze me.

Trust me, you've not done up to 10% of my outside-of-class activities. Trust me!
And trust me when I say I've met tons and tons of smart Americans both inside and outside of class. Go to the top consulting firms, or Wall Street and see Americans doing exceptionally well. Go and see History majors crunching numbers on Excel.

Go to most career forums and see 18-year-olds planning their futures... Something an average 18-year-old Nigerian cannot do.

Visit most of these black mentorship associations and see 16-year-old black Americans planning their college and scholarship applications. SMH

As I said before, there are smart and dull people everywhere in the world. Your experience is a direct reflection of the segment of people you interact with.

Because an average 18 year old Nigerian does have an online platform or easy access to an online platform to publicize his plan to you doesn't mean he has no plans.

And you think Nigerian undergraduates don't write scholarship applications. Will you like to know the exploits of 16years old in my alma mater during my time and even now? Do you know how many scholarships I and my friends had through school in Nigeria.

I don't know what you have against Nigeria. And there are smart people everywhere and it's a fact that the not smart will always outweigh the smart in every society.

So my theory that "most Americans are not smart" will always be true even if it bursts your bubble

bracelum:
You don't have to tell me your life story to cover up for the blunder you earlier committed. This strategy is best described as damage control.

And I laugh at your second paragraph. If you read my comment well, you will discover I mentioned undergraduate and not graduate degrees. Most Nigerians attend graduate school at >25 years and you must be a fool if you don't take responsibility of your life and future at that age.

A lot of Nigerians in undergrad do not shoulder responsibilities. A lot of Americans, especially the blacks, come from broken homes and experience domestic violence and thug life from childhood yet they work for 4-12 hours per day at age 16, 17 and 18 to pay their way through college and still maintain excellent grades. Some of them rack up debts and shoulder the responsibilities themselves. When you were 17, were you bold enough to take a debt of 100k naira talk more of $30k? At that age, a lot of Nigerians in undergrads spend most of their time on social media with no clear idea of what to do in life. Did you work your way through school at 17? Do you come from a broken home? Have you ever experienced domestic violence? Then, don't come here and underrate their experiences. If you're shouldering your responsibilities at 25 and you think everyone should congratulate you on that, you don't know what you're saying.

I don't know about your educational experience in the US cos I don't know about your school. But the way you make it sound, it seems you attend one of those schools where Professors pull out exam questions from Quizlet and administer to the class. That is your problem. But from my experience (and from the experience of a lot of people here I've interacted with), education in the US is way tougher. Many people here will agree with me that open-book exams in the US are most times more difficult than closed-book exams.

Also, if you attended one of the public universities in Nigeria, the workload of your 9-10 courses per semester does not amount to 2 courses in the US. So stop talking that. When you take 3 or 4 classes per semester with 8 assignments per week aside from required class readings per class, lab work, research, assistantship duties, job search and 2 exams for each course (mid-term and final), I don't even know how you came up with that assertion. Even the 9-10 courses at Covenant, UI, UNN, UNILAG and co are not as hectic as that.

Talking about long-term, don't bring the story of government here. There are Nigerians who think long-term and work hard to achieve it. If you're not one of them, then that's your problem. Even right now, if I ask you about your plans for the next 5 years, you might not even come up with a concrete plan.

Go to a decent American university and ask a senior about their career goals. You will hear stuffs like law school, PhD, Master's degrees, MBA, Software Development etc. But ask an average NYSC candidate (not even a final year student) same question and you will be shocked by their responses. A lot of Nigerians even think about graduate school as a reactive option as opposed to a proactive option (I can't speak more on this point).

So, next time you open your mouth to call an entire nation unsmart, always remember that your perception of people is based on the kind of people you keep as friends.

My problem with Nigerians is that we think we are too smart but yet we can't even vote good leaders for our country. Sometimes these Americans will be looking at our gra-gra (which we call smartness) and be laughing.

The problem I've seen with most Nigerian students here is that they limit their selves to their labs/classes and don't know anything that happens outside their campuses. They only roll with people on campus and in academia

Where do I start from, Is it western union agents that refuse to pay SEVIS fee stating that it's fraudulent or the ones that refused to made the payments because I've done the payment previously for someone else. Is it people that don't know anything about anything about the world outside US, know nothing about Olympic games etc...People that know nothing about very basic things. smh

I've met old ladies that use their own mouth to wash their own people. So I know what I meant when I said "most people here aren't smart.

I rest my case.

bracelum:
When I see people on this thread calling Americans lazy people, I laugh.

Truth is, there are hardworking and lazy people everywhere in the world and your perception of Americans is highly dependent on the type of people you meet and make friends with.

If you think Americans are lazy, then it shows that you've only met and made friends with the lazy group of Americans.

The Americans I've met are extremely hardworking (males and females). They work 4-12 hours a day combined with their undergrad education and still maintain excellent grades. This is something that a large number of Nigerians cannot do.

A lot of them know what they want to do in the next 3-5 years. They start planning for grad school/their careers from their sophomore year by taking internships or advanced-level classes early. A lot of Nigerians do not make such long term plans.

So if you think Americans are lazy, then it probably shows the kind of company you keep and the kind of people you meet.

It is an undisputed fact that Americans aren't lazy, they are really hardworking else they wouldn't have come this far. But nobody said anything about them being lazy here. The bone of contention was "smart" as opposed to "intelligent" and "most" as opposed to "all".

In my opinion, i disagree if you say a lot of Nigerians cannot work and maintain good grades at school. I have lots of Nigerians all over the US doing stuffs I cannot say here and still maintain the very best grades in the different schools. I have this particular friends in OKC that work on campus during the day and do stuffs I still cannot say here at night, yet they maintain over 3.5 gpa. And Yes, they are grad students not undergrads o. With the open book quizzes and exams, free points for class participation, objective style of questions, 5-6 courses a semester, why won't someone make good grades? Yet, majority of them still struggle and some don't even want to go to college.

I passed through 5 years of Nigerian university education. I did 9-10 courses all through my stay in school and only a few objective exams. I never had open book exams and I still scaled through school with all the sufferings and discomfort attached to it.

In my opinion too, a lot of Nigerians know what they want to do for the long term, it's the situation of things that make planning impossible. We even plan self, just say "man propose, country scatter am". To even get industrial training (IT) placement na war, na to come get plan for internship and life after school....lolz
If the country is better, a large number of Nigerians will work, study, maintain very good grades and still plan long term.

And yes, I've met different variety of people in my short stay here. With my school ID card I have access to all the buses in my city for free. I use to take endless rides for about 3 hours daily during my first 2 months and I've met all sorts of people. What I see on those bus rides are hardworking intelligent but hardly knowledgeable group of people. The white dominated group of students I see on campus are hardworking, intelligent, privileged but not so smart set of individuals. I use to go to an all white church before switching to an all black church and they all give me different view of Americans. Aside Nigerians, i still have more white friends than black friends cos they are more accepting, cheerful givers and caring than blacks.

It's needless to talk about the replies I get whenever I tell my course of study to people. My class is dominated 80% by indians. I have more Indian lecturers than Americans.

All this epistles are my experiences. It doesn't mean a thing and not written to sway you away from your own opinion. It's a free world

dipomania070:
Hello house,

Just have a quick question, Is it possible to start Fall 2019 application now or wait till middle of the year?. Even if you have your I20, can i proceed to have my to have my visa interview?

You can't start now for fall 2019. According to USCIS rules and regulations for F1 visa, you cannot appear for your F1 visa interview until 120 days from your program start date and you cannot enter the US till 30 days from your program start date

I hope this helps you

GboyegaD:
I find this absurd. They are not smart and you chose to go study in their country? They are not smart and yet their society is more organized than ours that is smart? They are not smart and they lead innovations in the world? I guess it would be nice to weigh words before they are used.

I won't stress this issue much. What I find absurb is the fact that you fail to see the key word in that whole paragraph.

In my opinion, If you have read my post without the intention to find fault in it you would have noticed I said "most" not "all". And as someone pointed out, I used the word "smart" and not "intelligent". It is a known fact that immigrants made America what it is today and that trend is still visible today.

Moreover, it was my opinion and the message I was trying to pass was clearly sent. This is a public and faceless forum, you don't need to attack every post with dagger and sword just to feel accomplished.

And you skillfully chose to highlight just the part you want from a post of about 5 paragraphs and left out my disclaimer footnote at the end of the post. That's how we pass the wrong message.

This is still my opinion. Live and let others live.

warm regards

Dollypiizu:
Any Student at Texas State University San Marcos should pls send me a DM. A brother just got his visa and he needs to ask questions for clarification.
P.S : He posted his interview transcript already.

You guys should be the ones sending the dm.

Dm Damioli. She is in Texas state at San Marcos. If she don't reply you on time, you can dm me, I have her personal email. I also have another female friend in the school too

egbe12:
Pls any Texas state university student @ San Marcos should DM me asap

You should be the one sending the dm.

Dm Damioli. She is in Texas state at San Marcos. If she don't reply you on time, you can dm me, I have her personal email. I also have another female friend in the school too

Pinkandblue26:
M so down
Don't know how to start picking the pieces
I have really spent a lot
Do I need to still write a standardised test? Even tho I don't need it.

Just relax and chill. sometimes you don't have to pick up any pieces.

In my opinion, sometimes the US embassy play a psychological game on candidates on their first interview attempt. They are like "you claim to have thousands of dollars to spent on education in the US, let's deny you and see if you have another 56,700 to pay for another interview". Or the game might come in this form, "you claim to be serious about doing a rigorous masters degree, let's deny you and see if you are tenacious enough to try, try and try again.

I was in your shoe back in june. I was delayed on my first attempt and I was asked just "how did you know about this school", "name other schools you applied to", "who's sponsoring you and what does she do". I was dumbfounded when I was handed the blue paper. I didn't know what went wrong. I almost gave up until some peeps here and in real life advices me not to give up so easily. I tried again and got approved in August. I did nothing new the second time. I even practiced less than how I practiced the first time. I was not really into it the second time.

Will I advice you to write a standardized test just for interview sake? I'll say yes.

Let me tell you my story. My journey to America started 19 months before I got approved. I wrote GRE, TOEFL, did WES then wrote another GRE. I did all this because I wanted to get everything that will aid me to achieve my goal. On the day of my second interview, I prayed for a VO that is IT inclined or standardized tests inclined just to get the odds in my favor. While on the line, two guys in front of me were going for MBA and were denied after the VO asked about standardized test and they didn't write any because according to them " their school didn't request for it". I immediately got confident because I knew I wasn't getting a blue paper from this test inclined VO once I mentioned I wrote two GRE tests and it worked. I got approved.

Most Americans aren't really smart. VOs are Americans so most VOs aren't. ........... lolz. Most of them operate on their orientation scripts that students need to take standardized test. Although some of them are experienced and know stuffs. So if writing a standardised test will place odds in your favor, then write it.

I hope this helps you.

Warm regards.

All this long story is based on my experience and my orientation, it doesn't reflect the truth state of things. You don't have to take it or think too much about it. Sieve through and take what applies to you.

okoliifeanyi200:
thank you so much.but someone told me that i have to take 12 credit courses per semester and thats not possible in summer, only in spring and fall , summer is just like a month and it's not possible to do all that within a month. please is that true because I don't want anything that will affect my interview. thanks as I will be waiting for your reply

The person is talking from an undergraduate point of view.
To be enrolled full time as an international undergraduate student in Fall or spring semesters, you must be enrolled for 12 credit hours, while for masters, you must be enrolled for 9 credit hours. So the person that said 12 credits hours must be speaking from an undergraduate point of view

Summer is 3 months and you can do your 12 credit hours or 9 credit hours as the case maybe if your program has summer classes up to the required amount of credit hours that you need to be a full time international student or else they won't even admit you to resume in summer semester.

Not all schools or program has classes for new students in summer. For example, my program offers a few classes in summer and all this classes requires prerequisites for you to take them. You cannot take this classes as a fresher hence my program won't admit you to start in summer semester.

If your school and program has classes and admit you for summer semester, you are good to go and it won't affect you at the embassy. People have gotten their visa for summer semester on this thread.

I hope this helps you.

Best regards

sunshineluv5:
Thanks for your opinion i can handle it.

Check your mail

Ubah1:
I don't quite understand you. Northeastern university is ranked 44th in national universities while university of arkansas is ranked 152nd. He made a better choice by choosing Northeastern university

In my opinion, I think the VO was not interested in which school is ranked higher than the other. The VO might just want to hear a very good and valid reason why he chose the school he wants to go to. It's was up to him to answer convincingly with good points and reasons why he chose the school.

I understand that the quality of schools matter and usually work in applicants favor, but if you can defend your choice of school and how it will improve your career, then you are good to go.

This is my little understanding and contribution on this matter. It's not a professional advice so please take it with a pinch of salt

kodeya:
Good day folks

Does an active citizenship petition filing ruins one's chances of being granted a student VISA ? I meant if I fill it in the DS 160 form ?

In my opinion, having an active citizenship petition filing shows migration/citizenship intent which is a big issue. The major reason why people are being denied is not having strong home ties which can be rephrase to being seen as a potential immigrant.
You now going for F1 while your immigrant/citizenship petition is ongoing clearly shows you want to migrate using F1 as a cover.

My advice will be for you to chill until a decision is made on your citizenship petition before applying for F1.

This is my own opinion based on the very very little i know about this matter. Don't take it too serious. Kindly wait for more experienced gurus to comment

Hope this helps you. Best Regards