₦airaland Forum

Judgepelumi:
You can only get PTA from banks if you have a return ticket. E.g Zenith bank

Thanks, bro. Do you have any suggestion?

folmus:
Go to any commercial bank with your Visa. You get it cheaper for the purpose of study than buying outside.

Commercial banks require return ticket to sell PTA. Denied at UBA for that reason.

Greetings,

Please, does anyone know the rate of buying dollars at the Lagos MM airport? Where is the best/cheapest place to get dollars for a student who is coming to the U.S and needs to change naira to dollars?

Advice and suggestions will be deeply appreciated.

Yakay:
What i quoted is what i saw on a friends ECA report, i know for sure that OND and HND will come out as 2 or more certificates. His HND got assessed as 2 certufucates on its own probably because of the courses he took that made up the HND result, i cant say if that will apply for all HND results.

However note that WES will not assess only HND, so as you have submitted both9OND &HND), be sure to get assessed as 2 certifiacates at least.

Okay. Thank you for this information.

I do hope the HND will be regarded as a degree of three years or more. That will increase my CRS in no small way.

Greetings House,

Please as I am currently studying outside Nigeria, how can I get a Police Cert of Character from Nigeria? Advice and suggestions will be appreciated.

Yakay:
It is better you call them and cancel the BSc evaluation especially with all the complaints about OOU verification. Your HND and OND is already 2 certificates , adding your BSc wont make any difference in the report.

A friend's OND and HND evaluation even came out as OND--equivalent of 2 years Canadian diploma,
the HND was evaluated as equivalent of 3years canadian diploma and 1 year post graduate diploma.

The HND alone already gave him 2 certificates.

Greetings and thank you for this information. Can you kindly give more insight please - Are you saying all OND and HND certificates will be evaluated as two diplomas with one as equivalent of 3years canadian diploma and 1 year post graduate diploma?

I also have an OND and HND certificate and I completed my application for WES to evaluate my result. Your response and aid will be appreciated.

femi312:
I would recommend you write TOEFL, its easy just like Waec English. You can write with 2weeks preparation and get >95. All you need to really practice for is the speaking section. Just go to youtube and download notefull Toefl speaking videos to practice and understand the speaking questions pattern. Additionally, download ETS official toefl guide to familiarize yourself with the other sections. Thats all you need, no big deal about Toefl.

Great! I have downloaded the official guide. will get on Youtube as advised.
Thank you so much for the insight, Sir!

Seasons Greetings!
Please, can anyone help with TOEFL materials? I am applying for a Doctoral program and the school insists I submit an English proficiency test - TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, CAE, CPE ....... (because I have not completed four consecutive semesters in the U.S). Likewise, which of the test would you likely recommend as I have about 28 days to prepare? I plan to write the exam immediately the new semester begins (before class work and other commitment sets in).

Advice, tips, and materials would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!

LagosismyHome:
a post here by Femi321 with this comment ; What the Hell? $1300? wow, you have money to throw around. Anyway you can use

http://www.InternationalStudentInsurance.com

but you will have to check the requirements for health insurance in your school first to be sure it meets any of the plans.

Thank you very much, Ma'am!

ponpon:
check isoa.org

Thanks

Greetings House!

I know information about getting Insurance plans for International students at 'cheaper rates' was discussed months back. I am trying to figure out if it was in Part 11 or Part 12. Can anyone with valuable information with respect to this kindly help?

Thanks.

TWoods:
Frankly i'm not surprised. The VOs are no fools. You are not a genuine student.

I live 2 hours from Harrisburg and have done so for 5 years. Your post was the first time i ever heard that a Harrisburg University exists! ... and that's in the same PA that has Lehigh University, Temple, Penn State, UPenn, LaSalle, DeSales etc. Pick a serious school biko. The VOs know that you're all heading to these schools, not because you truly want to study but because you see them as easy routes to the US. Telling them that you chose the school because they offer unique skills you're interested in learning is a joke. We all know there are at least 10 schools between NJ/PA that offer far more and would be more valuable on your resume.

Here's one thing you may have noticed... you will NEVER find a student applying for a visa to MIT, Harvard, UPenn being denied a visa (especially if they were also offered scholarships).

Great comment Sir.

However, comment bolded above seems 'too' direct an accusation or statement especially when you don't have more information about the individual apart from the transcripts shared. I still do understand your points and opinion but I think that statement can be painful and hurting especially if indeed you are wrong and the prospective student is genuine.

Greetings and Congratulations to all Fall 2017 Students. Just thinking I should drop few words in a bid to assist those travelling in here. I will tag it - THINGS I WISH I DID/KNEW BEFORE TRAVELLING TO THE U.S.

1. I wish I knew a student in my school : By all means, PLEASE get at least two 'CORRECT' students in your prospective school that can advice you. Information sometimes can be more useful than thousands of dollars as a new student. I never knew any student in my school then and I still regret a little till date. To make matters worse I entered when school wasn't in session. So, I met no 'CORRECT' student until orientation day.
Likewise, make plans to attend the Orientation. I know some will tell you it is not important BUT I THINK IT IS. Apart from the valuable information you will get, you will also get the opportunity to meet new people. I will never forget the Guy that 'gingered' me after orientation to knock at doors and speak directly with Professors for Jobs - TAs, RAs and the likes. That paid off for me.

2. I wish I learnt a handiwork : To some that are financially comfortable, this might not be necessary but to others on the street this might aid to ease of some stress - Learn a trade. (Fashion designing, Hair dressing, Barbing, even Mechanic). My fisrt day in U.S, after picking me from the airport, my uncle drove me to a restaurant and then to have his hair cut. Lo and Behold - I was shocked to learn he had just had an hair cut for $20 (especially because I just had mine cut two days ago in naija for less less than #300.) I did calculation immediately and was kinda

3. I wish I knew how to drive and came with an International Drivers License. Imagine me - I had access to a small car at home then in naija and wasn't working BUT I JUST DECIDED NOT TO LEARN HOW TO DRIVE. That's one of my foolish decisions. Public transportation in the U.S is 'Zero in some cities' and if you dont have a car, it is as simple as you dont have a leg - YOU WILL BE CARRIED ABOUT, not without stress, heavy bills etc. Why not save yourself the stress now and learn in naija. Likewise, INTERNATIONAL Drivers License is permitted to drive with in some states.

4. I wish I spoke the truth. Well, I am not the kind of person that believes in lying but whatever came upon me at the POE when asked if I came with food items, I still can't fathom. I at first said no to the officer. I later said except few dried fishes and snacks. However, I had several types of foodstuffs, from dried fish to Garri to Ogbonno, to Egusi etc. I had to be delayed for about an hour and half where I later now listed all I can remember was in my bag . Not without fear and anxiety. Save yourself the stress and simply tell them what's in there. (They already know)

5. I wish I came with a minimum of three jeans and probably a snickers. . For new students, I don't believe the first few months will be one where you need to spend money on stuffs like wears except you are obo. One or two correct jeans will do the magic. JJC like me, I don't put on jeans in naija so I came with 'half' jeans.

6. I wish I came with an Extension/socket/charger that works in U.S. Laptop chargers, Phone Chargers and other electrical appliances will not work if they are not 'two mouth U.S kinda thing'. N.B: I think Voltage also differs. Few electrical appliances and chargers I came with became a candidate of the trash. (The one wey pain me pass nah my clipper). My candid advice is PLEASE Find and get those extensions or whatever they call it at Ikeja or anywhere else believe me, THIS WILL SAVE YOU ALOT OF STRESS!

7. I wish I came with more medications. I don't like drugs so I came with only a sachet of Pain reliever and 'Tetracycline'. 'After few days, tetracycline finish o'. I have a sensitive digestive system and it reacted to the different kinds of foods.. Likewise, I reacted to the Pain reliever in here. I had to request for a friend to help with the 'chalk' she came along with which is what my 'system' knows as pain reliever.

Finally, Be a friend of your school's website, ICE's website and Homeland Security's website and play around it. KNOWLEDGE is POWER.

Wish everyone a glorious stay!

Tods:
Try Lamar university, Texas , they have a good ms in nutrition program. If u need help I can assist.

Also Try Texas A&M. Do you have a bachelors in Nutrition.

N.B: You will have to get more info though. Some Masters Program are done in such a way that you do a Dietetic Internship so you can become a Registered Nutritionist while getting your Masters degree. This requires you have a Didactic Bachelors.

femi312:
There is this saying that says ''If we don't fight we have failed, but if we fight we can either fail or succeed''. So forget the tuition part for now and put in some work. First, you need to decide on the course you want to study, To save you some stress start from this website http://graddecision.org/ to know the application process, So step 1) Decide on the course you want to study 2) Search for schools using a)www.msinus.com (open this website with a laptop, you should see a list of school and ranking for some of the most common courses, you can start from there b)www.gradschools.com c)www.google.com (you can just type 'msc in bla bla in the us in google' d) www.usnews.com e) www.4icu.org . 3) check up the website of the schools you find, to see the requirements. most schools will require GRE and some will require both gre and toefl . 4) Register for standardize exam and take it. You can register for gre as soon as you are ready and prepared to take the exam. Its done online at www.ets.org. You can also get all the information you need about the exam on the website. You will get adequate materials to prepare for the exam in this dropbox I created https://www.dropbox.com/sh/t9ot6d07hp1lkm7/AADL_dTihjEvNBRCBsmAcoXja?dl=0

TOEFL is an English test required by some US universities. though, some schools waive due to the fact that Nigeria is an Anglophone country.
For toefl, all you need are the speaking noteful videos in the link below, the ets toefl guide is enough to ace the exam for other sections. Just download the toefl ETS Guide from there website and the simulation test.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/45tvc3ifi8wh8sh/AACXR5j6l3nsWK8vZx5P28TVa?dl=0

As for the Tuition, if you have good results (GRE, GPA, Toefl), SOP and LOR; US schools do offer assistanship to graduate students. This can either be Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant or Administrative Assistant. Depending on the school, if you get an assistantship, your Tuition will be waived and you will also be paid a monthly stipend that can take care of your living expenses. One advice, once you shortlist schools, send emails to the grad cord of the schools and ask specific questions relating to that course and funding opportunities, be very explicit.

Lastly, there are basically 2 admission session in the US, Spring (Jan) and Fall (August). Schools admit more students in Fall, so Its advisable you plan towards Fall 2018. If you plan to resume in fall 2018, make sure you submit all your application documents before ending of Dec 2017. If you don't give it a trial, you will never know.My philosophy in life is to always do my part, with that I don't get to regret later. Above all, if you believe in God,pray to him..if not good for you.

If you have any question, drop it here and you should get more than one good answer.

@Bold: I love That. Just to add to his comment. I almost had heart attack when I saw my tuition for Spring 2017. I almost started making plans to fly back into naija. But now .............. the rest is history.

Be positive and start with all the steps listed above.

Much Blessings @Femi312 for this piece

[quote author=strictlynaija post=54660777]US school give you admission, them never decide funding....abeg that one na admission[/ :quote]

deevick246:
I'm doing this on behalf of someone..

NB: Please, only honest and credible persons should contact me.

Thanks for the exchange bro (despite my initial skepticism)...

Kind Regards!

DeeTus:
Lol..the question you ought to have asked is why did the school adopt this policy so to speak?

. So, I think you shouldn't blame them.

I learnt a school in Texas - TSU 'might' be adopting similar policy come Fall 2017. A good number of the international students are owing tuition hence their decision..

N.B: You can easily guess the citizens with the highest debts.

deevick246:
I replied you but got a failure delivery message in my inbox. Perhaps there is something wrong somewhere.

Sent another PM. In the event you still can't respond. Can you kindly email me @ tee4Him06@gmail.com.

Thanks

deevick246:
[b]I am doing this for someone[/

Sent you a pm

Mizzfy:
Thanks for your candid reply

What majors are you planning to study? The school is HBCU so it is quite friendly with international /black students. However, YOU WILL MOST LIKELY NOT GET any form of assistantship or funding in your first semester EXCEPT 'You are smart, hardworking and plan to get to the school at least 29days before resumption.

Furthermore, are you writing GRE and TOEFL, if Yes, you should probably make the school your last choice. If NO, you should write.

Finally, if the info I'm getting is correct, starting Fall 2017, international students might have to pay/deposit for a year's tuition before their arrival to school (or get I-20).


I saw your mail but this week is a little uptight. (Sorry for not responding). Will contact you by weekend or next week!

Mizzfy:
Texas Southern University

To me the school is like 'Agege Senior high School' with Yoruba/igbo left right and center!

Alot of Nigerians are in here

slimmy2005:
I have $200 and would change do 430

Greetings bro! Sent you a pm. Might be interested.

omoluabiguy:
Please how long does it take institutions to receive GRE scores. my ets portal says scores was reported yesterday 22/02, but none of my selected schools has confirmed receiving so far after emailing to ask. They said they are yet to receive it from ETS. For those who has been thru this, please how long did you waited for?

You can give them 3 biz days (I think it took that long then for my school to reflect the change)

Greetings house.

I have few naira(s) and I'm in need of dollars - 'about 200 - 250' (at a good and negotiable rate). Anyone interested can kindly PM me.

Thanks.

TWoods:
1. Ask your program coordinator or program director, they will be able to give you exact figures as to tuition costs and how much is defrayed by an assistantship.

2. Use google! Its easy to go on craigslist, type in the name of the town you intend to go and search for rentals... that would give you an idea how much you would expect to pay.

Oh Alright! Would do just that..

Thanks.

OluDare01:
NCAT does not give international .....

Thank you very much..

I do appreciate.

femi321:
An RA in NC might take care of the Tuition depending on the research project but TA wont,Some RA will only take care of the instate part of your Tuition and depending on departments, masters student are not even considered for RA position. I school at UNC Charlotte,Elect/Comp masters student dont get RA, they only work as TA. They don't waive any percentage of Tuition for 10hrs nor 20hrs/week TA. The best you can get here is the masters merit award of about $10000 a year,and only 2 students are nominated to the grad school by the Grad Coordinator in each dept, you might want to ask if you have such in NCAT, search through your grad school website, You should see the funding opportunities available. NC is kind of different from other states but there are few schools in NC that have few exceptions, My roommate schooled in Appalachian State University,Boon,NC and he was funded fully for the last 3 semesters.You might want to look at cities that are predominately white , they tend to use funding to attract international students, you should also send an email to your grad cord and ask specifically if a TA/GA waives Tuition, He wont be able to give you info about RA because that comes directly from Faculties. About transportation, most apartments have shuttles and most are within walking distance to school. The cost of living in Charlotte is kind of Okay compared to other cities like NY,DC etc. Greensboro where NCAT is located should be fairly less than Charlotte because Charlotte is the biggest and major City in NC. The least apartment you will get in Charlotte is $400/month which is unfurnished, Apartments that are closer to school and furnished go for about $520/month..so you can compare that to Greensboro, it should be less in Greensboro. Send me a PM, i have a friend that transferred from NCAT this spring to Texas, he might have a better info for you. Relly more on info from your Grad Coordinator if he is the type that replies Email

I will do that now.

Thanks for the info. I will deeply appreciate your aid before going further as I am planning to transfer the other way. TX to NC.

I wouldn't say much with respect to 'Lagosismyhome's gesture. Even before that gesture, I had longed appreciated your Person; aid,advice and moral encouragement is next to none.... My Heart prays for you...

For those of us applying for Fall, let me just say a liitle,

1. As difficult and busy as you may be. Do the utmost to read earlier posts. Yes, not all are equally beneficial but inwards are 'golds' surrounded by 'impurities'. Don't let the 'impurities' and supposed time you think will be wasted debar you from searching for your gold. You ought to diligently and with much wisdom search through earlier posts.. Give it a day or two. (Some people have actually gone through the exact thing you are going through or planning to go through. Why not learn from them, even if you eventually dont agree with all that will be said, at least you will be better informed.) For example, I practiced an idea earlier posted here about sending a reminder to professors (appreciating their busy schedule and further showing your willingness to appreciate if they grant you an audience when they are less busy) few days after you must have sent a mail professionally introducing yourself and requesting for the TA/RA and it worked for me (3 professors replied me that same day. One even apologizing for not replying early. BOTTOM LINE IS THIS -The hours you think were wasted in reading earlier posts were only a seed sown.. It will definitely make things easier for you when you eventually start up.

2. By all means, learn how to drive a car before coming to the states and find out what the available means of transportation is like in the school you are applying to. I had 'unwittingly' thought that people that talks or talked about their cars and the insurance policies they have (herein) were being bogus. Alas, I AM TOTALLY MISTAKEN and wrong for such thought. Where I currently abode, having a car is as important as having a leg (especially as I am not staying very close to campus and there is no metro route to where I am). Taxis/uber can be very expensive. The bottom line is, learn how to drive (that's if you didn't have opportunity to do that before now) and find out the transportation system in your proposed school area.

3. While trying to stay with someone for the first few days of your arrival, please be specific and 'wisely' ask what the financial implication will be. Dont assume that the person will not ask you for money. I don't know how to say this but You wouldn't want to arrive only to be told you will pay so,so and so for staying for few days (especially when there is no money with you) and NEVER assume you will stay 'too long' with anybody. I heard a pathetic story this week and could only feel sorry as I was also incapacitated to help..

Most importantly, For me I will say be willing and ready to 'legally' adjust to the change.....

Best wishes.

femi321:
......Additionally even if you get a 20hrs TA or GA, some schools wont waive your Tuition as a Masters student, i know for a fact schools in North Carolina, Nobody is being rude or proud or whatever English you people call it.

Thanks for the info shared bro.

Pls, with respect to the info on North Carolina, I just applied for a Masters at NC State A&T (with the hope of getting a transfer by Fall) and I was thinking that a RA or TA would take care of the tuition.

I will appreciate if you have more info and can assist with respect to the exact % that might be defrayed from the tuition by a RA/TA offer.

Average cost of housing, available/cheap means of transportation etc and any other useful info will be appreciated.

Thanks.