₦airaland Forum

homeyluv:
Please, does the graduate school requires only GRE for admission?

You should check the departmental website for the specific admission requirements or contact the program graduate coordinator or better still do both!!

NewAjala:
PROFILE


Background ➡ BSc Industrial Chemistry

GPA ➡ 2.83/4.00 (WES), 3.16/4.00(WES 300l + 400l only)

Job ➡ Graduate Trainee (Disco)

Degree of Interest ➡ PhD

Research Experience ➡ none

Research Interest ➡ Chemical Biology, Neuroscience(Neurodegenerative disorders), Biosensing and Imaging.

University of Interest ➡ University of San Francisco, University of Utah, University of Kansas, Vanderbilt University, University of Virginia, Brigham Young University, University of Nevada,...(still open to further suggestions)

GRE + TOEFL ➡ Under preparation.

Aim ➡ Tuition waiver + stipend

Semester ➡ Fall 2020 ( due to people saying fall has more funding opportunities, previously had Spring 2020 in mind).



I need some criticisms, advice and contributions.

You're welcome
If you've got ample resources and are willing to take a chance, you could still try Spring 2020. If it doesn't work out, then you go for Fall 2020.
Someone here got full funding for Spring 2019, for a Masters program (although, having a much stronger CGPA).
Ace your GRE and TOEFL and contact potential supervisors. Their response should hint you on whether to apply for this coming Spring or not.

Cheers!

Mikkyboy:
Finally Guys.....after a long period of wait and lost hope the last University I applied to Tennessee Tech just gave me admission(PhD),after all the 'safe' Schools I applied to used me to play Ludo.Admission letter and funding details to come later.

Happy but confused........Dont know where to start with August around the Corner.I just hope the funding is robust or else I go do shakara too.

Lemme Just wait and see.
Thanks to all of you especially @NDAWE,DRHOPEFUL,PONPON,HAPPYDAY etc you guys rock

Congratulations!
Let's hope it's gon be great news.
Truly you've got little time.

ugonna1054:
No correction ll work my bro

Goodluck mahnn

Thanks boss!
You too!

ugonna1054:
Lmaoooo...very funny bro, im simply an anomaly
Thanks for your input.. much appreciated

What Program are u shooting for?

Don't mind me . We could apply some Bouguer Correction to this anomaly.

MS in Geology (Sedimentology/Stratigraphy) or Exploratory Geophysics.

ugonna1054:
Heyy guyss!!

Trust y'all doing good

So i want to apply for an Msc Computer Science/Software Development/Engineering in the US, Im yet to take the GRE/TOEFL tho, but will soonest...

I am in contact with some schools already. North-Eastern University for example does not require the GRE nor TOEFL (considering im from Nigeria) for the program im interested in (Computer Science Align - designed for prospective graduate students with no CS background) but they only offer Scholarship worth a percentage (roughly 25%) of Tuition to their top tier applicants..They have flexible payment options (in monthly installments, you pay as you go)..I was advised by their Financial aid Coordinator on taking private loans to finance my Program... I am already strongly thinking of Pushing applications now against Fall 2020, to atleast be a good candidate for the Tuition discount.

Has anyone here ploughed this route or know anyone that has? If so, is it advisable to apply for a private loan? Someone with experience kindly come to my aid..


I ll still write the GRE and try to get great/near-great scores like my Ogas here......I would appreciate recommendation for very good schools (top 100) where i can get funded with a hopefully good Profile.

So far My profile is thus;

Bsc (Geology, UNILAG) => 4.55/5.0
Wes Unofficial => 3.74/4.0
GRE => NIL
TOEFL => NIL

P.S You might notice the career change but yeah, that's what i want.

Thank you

Cc - All the big men them!!

It's kinda sad seeing a Palaeozoic brother previously abiding by the laws postulated by Nicolas Steno change his ways!
It's your decision to make.

Unfortunately, I don't have any advice concerning CS courses, but I'd want to make some input.
Why don't you consider another school? With your CGPA I believe you can get a school with sound researchers in your area of interest, which would also offer you a Graduate Assistantship. (Although as mentioned earlier you'll need to ace the GRE and TOEFL, write a strong statement of purpose and have powerful recommendations, among other things).
As the law of Uniformitarianism applies to the case of VISA applicants, it may be difficult for you to convince Consular Officers when you collect a large loan, than someone with an assistantship offer (I stand to be corrected).
Moreover, which is better? Being funded by the institution and having no deficits or collecting loans you would have to pay for eventually?

I wish you the best!!!

The present is indeed the key to the past, and Vice versa.

Talksub:
Thank you so much !

Page 428 had very good information. I will just mail the graduate co-ordinator .

Then try to nail the GRE.

I wish you the best!!

Talksub:
Hello ,

I am new here . Currently reading for GRE . I have only 6weeks to prepare . Please I need guidelines . What material is the best for study ? My target is 330 . I don’t want to read aimlessly.

For people who had very good GRE score what was the secret? Did you just use only the official ETS materials .

How do I get the formulas for the Quant .

I have a couple of materials that someone shared from a google drive which I downloaded . Please which should I focus on .

Secondly please does any one know the university in the us that offer full tuition waiver and GA or TA with stipend for MSc in mechanical engineering or MSC in CHemical Engineering?

I intend to go in for spring session 2020 and most application deadlines are like oct 1st .

Please I need guideline on how to get full funding .

You're welcome here.

If you're just starting your preparation, I can assure you 6 weeks would most likely be too little time to achieve this score. The best way you'll know this would be when you take practise tests.

You'll get most of the information you need by reading through at least the last 150 pages. Due to your time constraint check page 428, but I'll strongly advice you read through more posts.

All the best!!

isaacbill01:
Thanks bro. I will keep working hard . I just want to know if the GPA is good enough to guarantee funding and admission

You MSc GPA looks good. I'm not sure about the undergrad. But I believe you'll get a good school with your GPA. Although it still balls down to you making some research. Contact graduate coordinators of programs your interested in. They should give you a better insight than what is in their admission requirements. Just work on other aspects of your application.

All the best!

user4321:
I've maxed out my quant... so no rewrites for me again

Your scores no be small thing!!
Congrats again!

user4321:
Hello My people, Official scores came in today... and Yes I beat my 4.5 AWA.. to get 6.0 AWA.... So happy!!!... 99th Percentile.
===== UPDATED PROFILE =====
GRE
Q-169
V-162
AWA- 6.0
TOEFL
116 (R-28 S-28 L-30 W-30)
GPA
4.74/5
3.82/4 (WES UNOFFICIAL)

cc- ponpon calculator123 scholastica16

This is serious !!
Congratulations!!

Why do I have a feeling you would want to rewrite again

The sky is just your starting point!

isaacbill01:
Good day everyone.
Please I need advice
I had a bsc geology 3.54/5
Msc 5.35/7. UI
I am planning to write a GRE in few months time. Please what are my chances of getting a funded Phd in the USA if I get a good GRE score of about 310.

I seriously need an objective response .

Please do better than a 310. The way the GRE works sometimes is that you could get quite lower scores than you anticipated (I can personally attest to this fact). I believe you hope to get some funds from the university (Partial or full). There is much competition for Graduate Assistantships, especially at good schools. It's better you have a score you may not use, than not having the score you need to be selected for funding.

What's your research interest? Or better still google online for USA University Professors in .... field, e.g., University Professor of Sedimentology in USA. You would have to do most of the research on your own, like going through each researcher's profile to see if you both share similar research interests. Also check out Linkedin for students, especially Nigerian Grad Assistants, for first hand experiences. They could advise on the best researchers (funding and character) to contact. Go to "msinus" and "Geology gradcafe" for profiles of admitted, rejected and funded students in different universities to know where you stand (Safe, Moderate or Ambitious choices).

Lastly, you would send numerous emails (and I mean a lot) and would probably get a few responses. These responses should guide your choice eventually. There are a lot of email samples online. Just tailor them to your taste.

All the best

P.S. I am also for Geology (although Fall 2019)!!!

Folawegbemisola:
Yes, you can use it as a proof of funds provided it covers tuition fees and living expenses for at least one year, and can be liquidated before the relevant period. If anyone needs advice on application for visa or admission, please contact 08056516226 (whatsapp) or visit www.mcfedututors.com

Thank you so much for your quick response..

Hello house,

Please does anyone have an idea if money invested in Treasury Bills can be used as evidence of the money in one's account?
The maturation of this Treasury Bill would be after Fall 2019 resumption.

Lagosismyhome, fairheart, Walspring

VERY URGENT

Hello house,

Please does anyone have an idea if money invested in Treasury Bills can be used as evidence of the money in one's account?
The maturation of this Treasury Bill would be after Fall 2019 resumption.

iammo:
yeah especially heavy duty Vehichles for farming , Construction and Military. but Electric vehicles are futuristic no point ruling that out.. Just dont want people to hit the panic button as we really heavily on Crude oil sales allocation

You've just hit the nail on the head. Till current research in electricity powered technology can improve so much that their output equals or exceeds current technology powered by petroleum, fossil fuel will still find a significant place in the energy mix (especially Liquefied Natural Gas).
As you have said, definitely there's a gradual transition. The rate of this trend would differ around the world especially with the current divide in proactivity between the developed and developing countries.

iammo:



Good one, Their Power plant would still get powered by our LNG from borny and Niger delta, Their Plane turbine jet engine would still get powered by our Jet1 fuel, All their Cargo ship would still need our deisel. and the outrageous cost of Battery cells wouldnt let our Crude oil customer dada Asian, and African 3rd world Countries .. leave us anytime soon

Definitely. Petroleum products wouldn't be phased out entirely. Since there's no all-sufficient power source currently. Petroleum would still hold great significance in the energy mix.
Most machinery require fossil fuels to power them.

AutoReportNG:
Naija... How far?

Good share.

We've still got a long way if we are still faced with electricity power supply for household use.

Oluwatomisinabr:
Please, I paid my acceptance fee on the 4th of April but i've not been called for clearance, and i received a mail on the 24th of April that clearance has started and i need to pay my acceptance fee. What do i do please?

From personal experience, please go for your clearance and don't linger. I paid my acceptance fee late last month and went for my clearance about three days after without an invite to clear my documents (I doubt I've received an invite thus far, especially since I've been cleared and wouldn't require an invite now). I believe the deadline for your clearance is soon approaching (6 weeks after date of admission). Kindly do the needful before you miss your deadline !

Ogenyipeter:
Guys during the application we were asked to upload our personal statement and now the invitation specifically said MSC will make presentation on their statement of purpose. Are they referring to the same thing. I mean the personal statement and state of purpose. In my opinion these are two different things. Can anyone correct me on this please.

The above stated documents serve the same purpose.
Different educational institutions use these words interchangeably.

ToluwalekeA:
Dearest Posters,

it saddens me about the outcome of all ur applications despite having good grades with high CGPA.Well, i am also in ur field. I studied Geophysics and also made a first class with GRE of 287. I apples to 10 schools, 5 admits and 2 funded offers.Pls when next you apply or when targeting Fall 2020 pls target the following schools and make sure you write each professor after u haves submitted your application just for acknowledgement.The schools are


Bowling Green State University
Georgia State University
Stephen F Austin State University
Fort Hay State University
Ball State University.

I am confident that by Gods grace, u can get funded offers from these universities.Also spread ur tentacles.Wish you the best

Wow, congrats

This is great news.

Thanks for your candid advice. I would look into these schools.

I wish you a great experience!!

Scholastica16:
Education funding reduced this year, courtesy Donald Trump and the energy sector was hard hit as well.

Your GPA is strong, I will say you should not curtail your choices to just moderate schools. You stand a very good chance.

I agree with you. For example, the oil and gas sector is just barely recovering.
Thanks Scholastica16.
I'll bear this in mind when I try again.
I appreciate the advice

Time2win:
You gave it your best this year. One thing i noticed is that funding were a bit hard to get this year. Even programs that funded very well last year, didn't fund much this year. I was even lucky to land one after about 8 PhD admit, only 2 funded so far. Keep pushing bro

I agree with you; it's been a competitive year!
Thanks, I'll keep pushing

Congrats too

It's been a while I have given updates concerning my applications

My profile as at the time of my application:

GPA = 4.59/5.0 (B.Sc. Geology and Mining)
GRE = 154/157/4.0 (V/Q/AWA)
TOEFL = 105 (R-30, L-25, W-28, S-22)
Work experience: Been a Graduate Assistant for a few months.

I applied to three schools (all M.Sc.)

Texas Tech University - Rejected. Reason = Insufficient funds, despite a good profile. I was wait listed for funding at first before getting their love letter . I guess funding and admission are simultaneous.

New Mexico Tech (Safe School) - Rejected. Reason = POI informed me he couldn't secure anticipated funds and wouldn't take on new grad students this year.

University of Louisiana, Lafayette - Accepted. Wait listed for funding and got another love letter informing me I wasn't selected for the second round of funded offers.

Hopefuls don't be dismayed. So many factors go into getting admits and funding.
Congrats to all those who got admits and funding. It wasn't an easy feat.
If there was any mistake I think I might have made was applying to schools without back up POIs within them. So please when applying it is good there are various options of POIs within your research group of interest who could select you as their grad student peradventure your intended POI doesn't secure the grant he/she is anticipating (I hope this makes some sense )

It is an honour being here . I have learnt a lot from this process.

I'll probably try again some other time, but till then,

Cheers

okonebiebi:
Please how does the interview questions come? Do dey ask questions from your SOP? or from your Field in general?

Expect some technical questions too.

solihp:
I am officially bowing out of the admission process for fall 2019 , what a process. I accepted an offer earlier this week.

A little about me

Undergrad: Statistics, CGPA:4.07/5, unofficial WES evaluation:3.47/4
I decided to apply for admission just in December although I have followed the thread for almost a year now. I wrote my GRE in February and prepared for less than two months: 161Q,153V, 3.0AW. Most of the requirement for the schools were met in the third week of February because of GRE but I submitted my applications before then. The admission decisions so far

Villanova University: Admitted but awaiting funding
Bowling Green State University: Admitted but awaiting funding
University of iowa: Rejected
Georgia State University: Admitted with GA which has full tuition waiver and some stipends
George Washington University: Pending
Michigan Technological University: Admitted without funding
American University: Admitted with some funding but was not sufficient

I was using style to wait for GWU but I have finally gone for GSU as it was the best offer so far coupled with the course: Master's of Mathematics with concentration in Biostatistics.

Fall. 2019, yes we can

Congrats! It's not an easy feat.

user4321:
TOEFL scores came in today had 116/120
Reading -28
Listening -30
Speaking -28
Writing - 30

Edit: I wrote these two exams while working full time ( man GATS hustle), Being Nigerian is hard .
A wonderful thank you to BY Mafit, for their wonderful discount .
Scholastica16, we are still looking up to you sir

Wow. Congrats. Your scores have been great.

akinszz:
And don't forget to engrave your work with your logo...

Boss your work is really good. I just picked up my pencil recently.
What do you think of this?

[img][/img]

Hassanolek:
I wrote my GRE last week Thursday at Uniprep but I just got my official result today.

I started preparation for GRE towards the end of January but I wasn't really consistent, and on average I only prepared for like 1.5 month. The first month of my practice was dedicated to practicing QR questions from 5lb and the official guide while pertaining to VR all what I was doing was learning words from the Magoosh App. In the last leg of my practice days, I started taking mocks from Baron, Powerprep, ETS official guide and the range of my mock result is QR(160-165), VR(154).

Fast forwarded to the exam day, in order to be sangfroid and maintain my equanimity on the exam day,I tried not to tergiversate my psyche with esoteric words and arcane math problems few days to the exam though I was still going through some of my antediluvian solutions. After going through those preliminary processes at the exam centre I was shown my stand and Issue writing was the first to surface and in 25 mins I was done with it though I had issues coming up with very cool points but my argument was nice, I was able to transit nicely between my paragraphs.

After my analytical, QR came in and it was very simple, I guess it was the experimental while the VR that followed was turning my head, from there I knew there was a 'nuke' on the mountain not even fire. The other two QRs were a little bit harder more than my mocks and the 2nd VR was average(as expected because I messed up in the first one).

Las las, I reported my score and I saw QR(160), VR(152). I was crestfallen because I never had it that low in any of my mocks. From the official score sent to me today the analytical is 3.5.

Immediately I saw the score at the centre, I just told myself "guy, life goes on" and I sent my scores to
Iowa state University
University of South Florida
Florida State University
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.

Profile:
GRE 312
GPA 3.73/4.00(WES unofficial)
TOEFL: still preparing
Intended Course: PhD Chemitry/Biochemistry

Team Fall 2020

Congratulations on your scores!
The GRE isn't easy, so no need to beat yourself up. You have a good GPA.
I would like to suggest you check out graduate profiles of admitted and funded students at the universities you've sent your scores to on gradecafe. This may give you an idea if your profile is also competitive. Contact the Graduate Coordinators of these schools, and if you're fortunate enough they may give you an idea of the nature of funding you may secure with your current profile. Also remember that other aspects of your profile are very important (SOP, Recommendation letters, research experience, publications,...). Also have you contacted POIs? Do they sound optimistic? Are there options of POIs within these schools who may take you on as a research student if the other doesn't secure funding? These are some other questions you'll need to ask yourself.
Once you've done all these you may decide whether or not to go ahead and make applications or consider rewriting. But I would suggest you exhaust other options before considering rewriting (at least you've still got some time to make a decision assuming your target is Spring/Fall 2020).

I wish you the best in your endeavours!

Congrats again!!

pronto543:
Thanks Sherlock. I'm so excited to receive the news. Yours is on the way.

Amen oh . Thanks

pronto543:
Good morning esteemed colleagues,

I received an official GRA offer which includes full tuition waiver and fees from my potential advisor yesterday for fall 2019 at University of Kansas (KU). She notified me by mail on Thursday that she had secured 2 years GRA offer for me regardless of the outcome the fellowship offer I was nominated and applied for 8 weeks ago. The offer is in addition to School of Engineering scholarship I was awarded 5 weeks back.

I greatly appreciate the effort of everyone on this thread. Full funding mail will continue to flow in for all.
#fall2019 #yeswecan

Congratulations!! This is great news.

user4321:
So I wrote my GRE Today,
For a little back story, I just graduated a little over three months ago, and got a job immediately as a software engineer, at a fast moving company, with periodic crazy deadlines. So, I had to squeeze in time during mornings at nights to prepare, and learn as much vocabulary as I could.
Fast forward to test Day, I arrived at Dragnet prometric 2 hours before the test, did a quick review, and was first on the line. Got the quant section first, let's just say, it was deadlier than I thought, too many geometry problems, and i loathe euclidean circle geometry a lot. I moved on to the verbal; few mistakes here and there, but I just basically free styled.
At the end of the test, I was assured that I had done very terribly, and was superbly afraid to click "report scores". Then I clicked
QUANTITATIVE - 163
VERBAL - 161
TOTAL - 324
I feel i did terrible in the quant, as i focused too much on the verbal during prep, but I hope to never write GRE ever again, I accept my 324 "laidat".
Profile
Bsc. Electrical and Electronics Engineering
GPA - 4.74/5
WES (UNOFFICIAL) 3.82/4.0
GRE - 324 ( Q-163 V-161)
SCHOOLS
STANFORD UNIVERSITY -PHD
UT AUSTIN - PHD
RICE - PHD
CMU AFRICA - MSC


cc- scholastica16 quoran

Congrats. Your GPA and GRE no be small thing
Boost other parts of your application.
Include safe schools too.
Then I'd also say find schools with somewhat large research groups (with numerous options of POIs to select from). If one doesn't select you another may.

The sky isn't the limit!