Thank you so much!

BigIyanga:


Taking over your family business is a good home-ties argument to be made. Do your homework wella

Hi Guys, Please I need your opinions and suggestions. Do you think it would be beneficial to have my Dad's company sponsor me to study abroad with the intention of learning skills and returning to take up a higher paying role? or would that be considered a red flag to the VOs because it is my Dad's comapny?

Thank you so much for your help!

Please does the bank statement need to be signed and stamped by the bank?

Lildairo:



Congratulations!

I'm going to UIUC too. My interview is 11th December.

I wish you success in your interview bro, what course are you going for?

Mosminic:

I was actually asked the "Entropy question" but not the second.

Ooh my bad, I heard wrong.

Visa approved
6th November 2020

Me: Good morning (Removes mask)
VO: Good morning, Please put on your mask. We are going to start by taking your finger prints.

After that was completed

VO: So where are you going?
Me: UIUC

VO: Hmm, Urbana Champaign, why are you going there?
Me: I'm a masters student in aerospace engineering at the university and I expect to resume on campus in the spring.

VO: why did you select University of Illinois?
Me: The program at the school has an interesting course structure that provides me with the opportunity to specialize in structural aerospace engineering which is a particular interest of mine.

VO: who's sponsoring the program?
Me: The department gave me a generous funding that comes with tution waiver and monthly stipend to cover for living expenses

VOchecks my i20) What do you intend to do with the degree
Me: I intend to use the degree and skills gained from the program to return to Nigerian and join the National Space Research and Development agency to (Vo cuts in)

VO: Are you married?
Me: No

VO: Any children?
Me: No

VO: have you travelled out of Nigeria?
Me: Yes. I've been to the US, UK, UAE

VO: (pauses for a while) when was the last time you were in the US?
Me: 2017

VO: I intend to issue your Visa
Me:, Thank you

VO: here are your documents blah blah blah
Me: Thank you



I noticed my interview was a lot shorter than most other people. I completed my interview before the two people in front of me on the queue.

The Lady that's going for PHD in chemistry (knows a little too much about nanochemistry,  likes mixing chemicals and has never blown up a building), I tried waiting for you but an officer told me to keep moving. I really hope your friend and the third guy with us also got accepted.


I also noticed two things I thought I should share

1. After an applicant answered a question the VO asked, the next thing the VO said was "how long did you practice that speech?". He eventually got the Visa but I believe the VO tried asking questions he wouldn't expect him to have prepared for cause further down the interview, after answering a question, the VO asked whether he prepared that and he was like "NO" and The VO enthusiasticly said "Yeah I like it when we just talk".

2. An applicant who I think was going for Chemistry was asked what "entropy" was. He was also asked which had more entropy between "air" and one other option I didn't hear.

Lastly, I observed there were more acceptance than rejection during my time in the hall.

Thanks a lot

Goodluck in the US

TrojanSnail:


Thank you.
I currently teach in a university,

I was trying to say that and explain how it is important to my career but I guess he saw it on his computer. So, I didn't need to say it.

Congratulations bro

Please could you state your response to this question


VO: what would you do with a PhD in Aerospace?

It would be really helpful to me

TrojanSnail:
Interview: 20th of Oct, 2020.
Time: 6:00AM
Was led in to the embassy at about 6:35AM.

VO: So PhD in Aerospace at Iowa State University?
Me: Yes sir

VO: Why PhD in Aerospace
Me: would love to continue in Aerospace cos my undergrad and grad studies were in Aerospace

VO: what would you do with a PhD in Aerospace?
Me: I currently teach in a...

VO: cuts in, I see it
VO: Are you married?
Me: yes sir

VO: how many kids do you have?
Me: None for now

VO: Is your wife going with you?
Me: Not at the moment

VO: So you studied in China
Me: yes, I did

VO: do you speak Mandarin
Me: 一点点，sorry, a little

VO: So I'll be approving your visa, make sure you hold your i20 when entering the US. Good luck with your studies.
Me: thank you sir.

Had to put the details here, the interview was fast, it was more of a casual discussion.

Funaki:


Yes. What of you?

Yeah I am, could I send you a dm?

Funaki:


Are you going to UIUC?

Are youu going to UIUC?

I am prompted to specify the address I'd be staying in the US. Is it okay to input my school address as I haven't made any plans of that sort?

oracle009:


I paid via GTBANK internet banking portal. No disadvantage

Thanks a lot bro

Hello guys, please could I fill the ds 160 form before paying Visa Application and Sevis fees?

A kind person stated earlier that one has to go to the bank (GT) to pay the VIsa application fee. However I read on the website that it can also be paid through internet banking. I was wondering whether there is any disadvantage that comes with paying online.

If you are a new student, you wouldn't be eligible if you take online courses this year, however if you are an ongoing student, this fall semester would be counted towards CPT/OPT irrespective of which part of the world you are taking your online classes.

New students are not eligible because they haven't gained an F1 status yet

pompeiimagnus:


Now's the time to start writing passionate emails to schools sha, especially those with significant funding. My major concern is if embassies don't reopen in time for new students to be in the US by Spring 2021 after taking online courses this Fall, will one still be eligible for CPT/OPT? Any thoughts on this??

Hello
Unilag sent my foundation result(JUPEB) to WES. However, WES didn't accept the JUPEB result claiming it wasn't from the institution that awarded the degree. I called them to explain that Unilag is the school that awarded me the diploma, they said that they can only accept it from JUPEB themselves. I explained to her that JUPEB doesn't provide the transcripts, only Unilag can do that. I also explained that I'm not the first person to get myJUPEB result evaluated. Well, she replied that she doesn't have access to other people's account so she can't confirm nor deny that. Then she advised that I should make a request for WES to remove my JUPEB result from my evaluation.

I want to ask would my undergraduate transcript be evaluated as Bsc equivalent
If I remove it, could they say my documents are incomplete(because I started from 200level not 100level)?
Does anyone else have this issue

Well I didn't use the 5lb then
The GRE guide was quite sufficient for me

NwanyiOkpa:


Manhattan 5lb contains problems. the GRE guide doesn't have much problems.

#Fall2020Soldiers bro
Can I send you a message?? I was hoping I could send my statement of purpose to you for your insights and advice. Hopefully, you could assist me in making the statement top notch.

user4321:


Congratulations man!!!... Such powerful scores!!!!.. . #Fall2020Soldiers

The word problems were actually really difficult and they set a lot of subtle traps, very easy to miss them

I used Manhattan GRE guide, I'm not sure if it's the same textbook as the Manhattan 5lb

NwanyiOkpa:



Were the word problems difficult? Was it not same as the word problems in 5lb?

Okay lemme see, Here’s the link for the materials I used
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/t9ot6d07hp1lkm7/AADL_dTihjEvNBRCBsmAcoXja?dl=0
The materials I used for my preparation were
Manhattan GRE guide (Book 1-6) (I found this book to be the most helpful in my preparations, I had to read it twice and solve every question in the book twice)
Kaplan GRE (Premier 2018)
Barron’s New GRE(19th Edition)
ETS 150 Practice Questions(Quants and Verbal)
I took various practice tests during my studies to measure my strengths and weaknesses
Barron’s practice tests(There were two of them, I can’t find the link but I still have the zip folder, so I could send to anyone who needs it, you could message me)
GRE crunch prep ---- https://crunchprep.com
Kaplan ---- https://www.kaptest.com/gre/free/gre-practice-test-options
Powerprep ---- You get access when you register for your GRE
and a couple of other free GRE practice test I could find online
I planned on taking a practice test every weekend which I did successfully in May and June. After deciding to postpone my exams from August to September, I stopped practicing. However, I resumed the practice tests in September though.
I heard Manhattan’s practice test was quite tough so I was saving Manhattan practice test for the weekend before my exam in other to get an accurate assessment of my ability, however, I wasn’t able to take it for multiple reasons.
After my initial practice tests, I realized I had serious weaknesses in RC and SC. I mastered Barron’s 800 frequent GRE words using Memrise (https://www.memrise.com). I had a little book where I wrote down all the words and read them every morning for over a month.
I also consistently practiced with GRE PREP CLUB
https://greprepclub.com
Taking 10 RC questions daily, 10 SC questions daily and 10 hard quants questions daily
My personal advice for a good score
Learn the techniques in the Manhattan textbooks and practice frequently and consistently. I cannot emphasize the significance of regular practice. That way you tend to get familiar with the tricks of they use and it just helps to solidify your knowledge. As for verbal, I can’t give any good advice as I didn’t do too well in that section myself.

Tella26:


Congrats...Please can you be specific on those Gre materials that actually helped you? Or All the materials you used for preparation. Thanks

When I sent my documents, I didn't realise one could send both documents together

ovonramwen:

Please did you send unilag diploma transcript seperately ?

When Unilag sent the initial transcript back in July, Unilag responded before WES updated my profile
So when WES updated my portal, It showed accepted.
However they haven't responded to subsequent verification requests and my profile has been stagnant for over two months

MISSPET:
Hi, How long did it take Unilag to respond to your request? I have been checking the website for months now and there has been no update. I am not in Lagos hence I cant go to the records office. Do you have a contact you can share?

I have tried calling them. However, they don't pick up as I just keep hearing voice prompts
Abi is there a special way of calling them

Asetime:

Try call WES. They may have mistaken your statement of result to be verification.

Please how did you call wes
they haven't been picking my calls

Chidimmamj:
Please i need help. i got a mail from WES on the 12th that my documents has been sent to UNN for verification, I paid online to UNN for verification and contacted someone who handles the verification in UNN to inform her that i have made payment and she said WES has not sent the mail. I contacted WES via Phone call and the lady that picked said they have sent the mail on the 11th and they can't resend it until after 7weeks which is so far away. Please has anyone experienced such or has an advice about what i can do?

My document have been awaitng verification for two months, I have tried calling, they didn't pick
and their responses via webmail have been unhelpful. Any suggestion on what I could do??

KaceeDcontrol:

I suggest you follow up through webmails and phone calls. But at the same time, you need to be patient. My last set of documents were received by WES on 26 and 27 August, yet the documents were just accepted last Friday, 13th September.

What centre did you write the exams though

solastar2:


The first quantitative the gave me threw me off balance. I once read a guy transcript here that the first quant and verbal was easy and I was expecting that but to my surprise I don't know where the questions came from. Manhattan said triangle, quadrilateral and circle are well test but I can remember if it I see more than one question on them. I saw many words problem sha and I don't even know if I got any because I was already off by then. The only good thing was my issue essay. I have come across that one in the pool b4 and I tried to write on it. The two people I spoke with sha wasn't much worse or better unless they didn't tell me the truth.

Powerprep, Kaplan, Gre crunch prep, Barrons......
In fact, all of the free GRE practice tests online are scam. The questions are waaaayyyyy Easier than what you'd see on the test day.
But you still need to use them as they preparer you for the examination conditions. I'd advice getting that Manhattan practice test series if you have money sha. If not, use the free practice tests like that but expect your GRE questions to be a lot harder than that.

solastar2:
m

Pls prepare oooo. That powerprep seems to be a scam. It is like we are not getting up to what we have on powerprep. I got about 310 on both simulation though.

You are right, I was really expecting lots of geometry questions, However, I got just 1. I was quite surprised
Most of the questions were word problems

solastar2:
.

The first quantitative the gave me threw me off balance. I once read a guy transcript here that the first quant and verbal was easy and I was expecting that but to my surprise I don't know where the questions came from. Manhattan said triangle, quadrilateral and circle are well test but I can remember if it I see more than one question on them. I saw many words problem sha and I don't even know if I got any because I was already off by then. The only good thing was my issue essay. I have come across that one in the pool b4 and I tried to write on it. The two people I spoke with sha wasn't much worse or better unless they didn't tell me the truth.

I wrote my GRE Today
I prepared for roughly 3 months basically followed @user234’s advices, I felt extremely confident when I got up this morning.
Arrived an hour and a half before the test started. Got the quant section first, let's just say, it was deadlier than I thought
QUANTITATIVE - 168
VERBAL - 153
TOTAL - 321
I was hoping for 3 verbal sections however I was given 3 quants much to my dismay, the first section was pretty basic and I was quite confident of my performance in that section, however the subsequent two were quite challenging as I ran into time trouble in both sections, especially the final section.
On the other hand, the verbal section was another ball game entirely. The first section was really crazy. Although I understood the sentences and could identify simple words that could be used to fill in the blanks, the options provided were unfamiliar. The second section was relatively easier as compared to the first though
Both sections were a lot more difficult than I expected. At the end of the test I felt I didn’t do too well in the verbal but I was hoping for the best. After seeing my verbal score, I was quite disappointed. The examiner noticed as I couldn’t hide my expression. I am glad I got above 320 and I hope to never write GRE ever again as preparation and writing were extremely stressful and time consuming.

SCHOOLS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CARLIFORNIA -MSC
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS - MSC
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA - MSC
MCGILL UNIVERSITY – MSC
At the test centre, there was a very attractive girl there, we made eye contact a couple times, I really wanted to talk to her but those officials were quite strict at Dragnet and didn’t allow communication inside that lobby. I was really looking forward to talking to her so I waited for a while after I was done but it seemed like she wasn’t gonna (I really hope I didn’t write “gonna” inside my essay) be done anytime soon and considering how exhausted I felt, I had to leave. If you’re on this thread, don’t hesitate to send a message.

decode:
How much is GRE Registration? Planning to write it in November.

$220

Please is there someone we can send our Statement of Purpose to, someone who can help analyze it and provide some much-needed insight and assistance.

Good day house. Please, I’m new here and the information posted here has been helpful. Please, I have an issue that I need your suggestions on.
My school sent my Unilag foundation transcript and undergraduate transcript to WES back in July. WES acknowledged them after like 5 days, my profile was updated, Undergraduate transcript was showing "Accepted", while Foundation transcript was "Received Document Awaiting Verification".
However, after sending my statement of result a few weeks back, I received a new document update where, the status of my undergraduate transcript changed "Received Document Awaiting Verification".
My statement of result was updated to "Received Document Awaiting verification"
While my foundation transcript was changed to "Not Accepted"(Reason: The document wasn't sent from the body or institution that awarded the degree. I have contacted WES via twitter and their "contact us" page

and their response was

The same vague robotic messages they always send
Thank you for your message.
Please be advised, all documents must be provided in the manner specified on our website
Best regards


I'm really confused about what to do next. Your suggestions would be helpful

Please
I need an advice from anyone that went to Unilag who has done WES evaluation


After sending my documents to WES
The verification was sent back to the school


And for over two months, My profile still says "Documents awaiting verification"

I've gone to school to complain about this, they said they've received it and verified it

After contacting WES however, they still keep saying they haven't received any Verification from the school.


And also the same for my diploma transcript.......any suggestions on what to do