Merry Christmas!!!!..... I haven't been here in a minute. Feels good to be back.
My journey in the US has been amazing. I've had my fair share of struggles but thank God my head is still above waters. I have since progressed from when i started, I don't miss home like i used to and i've have gotten used to the weather now (almost, not totally. The cold months still hit me so bad). Schooling here has been exciting/challenging but very rewarding.
I encourage people who want to come to the US for school, It's a very wise decision. There are tonnes of scholarships available to students with excellent academic records. I recently convinced my sister to allow her son (my nephew) write the SAT. Quite a few HBCUs offer scholarship to students with high SAT scores. Schooling in the US is not as expensive as people think. If you study really hard, write your SAT, GRE, GMAT, etc and score really high, you are bound to get some sort of funding. I know a couple of people who had a full ride through school.
It is possible to live your dreams. Step up to the task and write those exams & be on your way to success in 2014!
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Journey So Far....
Today marks my 3rd month in the USA. Like joke like joke what seemed like a plan is progressing so fast!!!. Seems like yesterday when i got my visa on the 23rd of August this year and now i'm in my third month in the US. It's been a very eventful journey to say the least. Infact, it seems like i've been here longer than the three months. In 3 months, i have completed a semester, written midterms, written finals, written projects, gotten my final grades, registered for new semester course, e.t.c.
Will like to share with you a few lies we've been told about the US which i have found out to be totally untrue. We've been told that:
1) America is next to heaven, a taste of it gives you an idea of what heaven is like,hmnnn not true.....
2) The streets of America are paved with gold, rubies and precious metal, fa-fa-faoul!, not true. Just like Naija, you'd see a lot of run down areas with very hungry scary looking people begging for alms, Yes!
3) America is filled with loads of glam & prop, another lie!, people here dress & look really simple, there's nothing exotic about the way people look
4) People back home believe all their family, friends & loved ones living in America live in big houses, have great jobs and are living large, Lie! As i got out of JFK Int'l Airport (which i think by the way is not half as fine as Dubai Int'l Airport), i saw a lot of black & African looking men asking if i needed help with carrying my load (imagine them as alabaaro) so i began to imagine the family of these people back home hounding them for money with the thought that they are living large....very ironic (**Disclaimer, this is not to say that everyone living in America does odd job, a million to one Nigerians living here are doing soooo well**)
5) Schooling in America is easy, if you can survive the Nigerian educational system with all its flaws, you can survive any where in the world. This is the biggest lie so far, LIE!..... the school system here will drain you (i mean this in a good way).... it will stretch and take everything from your grey matter, it will cause you to think, work hard & be the best. There's no room for failure, you are constantly engaged in coursework, homework, projects, research, e.t.c., it can be really demanding i tell you. So if you are planning to come here for school, Ensure you are prepared, mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, e.t.c., No cutting of corners here!, it's either you are on top or you are out! (Hope i did not succeed in scaring you, pls don't be, it's worth it at the end of the day. So i'm told)
It's exciting living in a foreign land, you experience new cultures, meet new people, try out new food, visit new places, it is fun but you'd miss home. I miss Naija, i miss my family, i miss home. From next year, i will try to update my blog more regularly & share with you my grad school experience. I've heard people say in the past that Grad school sucks but for me, i'd say Grad school rocks!!! (Hopefully) :)
This is wishing you a merry Christmas & a prosperous Newyear in advance!!!!
Will like to share with you a few lies we've been told about the US which i have found out to be totally untrue. We've been told that:
1) America is next to heaven, a taste of it gives you an idea of what heaven is like,hmnnn not true.....
2) The streets of America are paved with gold, rubies and precious metal, fa-fa-faoul!, not true. Just like Naija, you'd see a lot of run down areas with very hungry scary looking people begging for alms, Yes!
3) America is filled with loads of glam & prop, another lie!, people here dress & look really simple, there's nothing exotic about the way people look
4) People back home believe all their family, friends & loved ones living in America live in big houses, have great jobs and are living large, Lie! As i got out of JFK Int'l Airport (which i think by the way is not half as fine as Dubai Int'l Airport), i saw a lot of black & African looking men asking if i needed help with carrying my load (imagine them as alabaaro) so i began to imagine the family of these people back home hounding them for money with the thought that they are living large....very ironic (**Disclaimer, this is not to say that everyone living in America does odd job, a million to one Nigerians living here are doing soooo well**)
5) Schooling in America is easy, if you can survive the Nigerian educational system with all its flaws, you can survive any where in the world. This is the biggest lie so far, LIE!..... the school system here will drain you (i mean this in a good way).... it will stretch and take everything from your grey matter, it will cause you to think, work hard & be the best. There's no room for failure, you are constantly engaged in coursework, homework, projects, research, e.t.c., it can be really demanding i tell you. So if you are planning to come here for school, Ensure you are prepared, mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, e.t.c., No cutting of corners here!, it's either you are on top or you are out! (Hope i did not succeed in scaring you, pls don't be, it's worth it at the end of the day. So i'm told)
It's exciting living in a foreign land, you experience new cultures, meet new people, try out new food, visit new places, it is fun but you'd miss home. I miss Naija, i miss my family, i miss home. From next year, i will try to update my blog more regularly & share with you my grad school experience. I've heard people say in the past that Grad school sucks but for me, i'd say Grad school rocks!!! (Hopefully) :)
This is wishing you a merry Christmas & a prosperous Newyear in advance!!!!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Praise God, I got it!!!!!
Praise the Lord!!!..... I want to testify of the goodness of God. God did it for me. Remember i posted on here i was going for my visa interview on the 4th of August??... Well, i went and i was denied for no tangible reason. I felt hurt, disappointed and sad but i thank God for family & friends around me, they advised me to re-apply for a new visa appointment and i did. I paid for a new visa fee and was able to get another available date for 23rd of August. So i went for my visa interview on that date & guess what??.... I got it!!!... It was all the Lord's doing, nothing short of it. God is indeed a blesser and a perfecter. When i was first denied, i thought of all i had been through to get to where i was, i had spent soo much money and invested lots of time into this grad school journey and i thought it wasn't fair so i committed to re-applying. Thank God i did & i got it. So my advise to prospective Int'l students, even when you are denied, don't give up, think of everything you've put into it and steer on, never give up.
Below is a break down of all my expenses, no be small thing ooo....
GRE - N35,500 (wrote with First Logic, Oba Akran Ikeja, Lagos)
TOEFL - N32,000 (wrote with Symkol educational centre, Surulere, Lagos)
Application fees - Approx. N120,000 ( I applied to a total of 6 schools with the least application fee being $55. I also sent my GRE scores to each of the schools that's about $23 to send to each school)
SEVIS Fee - $200 (about N32,000)
Visa Appl. Fee- $140 (about N22,400)....
Courier Expenses - N30,000
It's been a long and tortuous journey but i thank God that he saw me through it all. My school resumes by the third week in Sept so i should be leaving Naija by 2nd week of Sept. hopefully. Will keep you guys posted on my journey & new experiences in the land of the brave, home of the free.
Much Love!
Below is a break down of all my expenses, no be small thing ooo....
GRE - N35,500 (wrote with First Logic, Oba Akran Ikeja, Lagos)
TOEFL - N32,000 (wrote with Symkol educational centre, Surulere, Lagos)
Application fees - Approx. N120,000 ( I applied to a total of 6 schools with the least application fee being $55. I also sent my GRE scores to each of the schools that's about $23 to send to each school)
SEVIS Fee - $200 (about N32,000)
Visa Appl. Fee- $140 (about N22,400)....
Courier Expenses - N30,000
It's been a long and tortuous journey but i thank God that he saw me through it all. My school resumes by the third week in Sept so i should be leaving Naija by 2nd week of Sept. hopefully. Will keep you guys posted on my journey & new experiences in the land of the brave, home of the free.
Much Love!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Count down to V/I
***Ahem*** cough, cough, cough*** It's been a minute since i last came here. A lot has been going on, i have been preparing and getting ready for my interview.
As the title suggests, it's count down to my visa interview. It's precisely 3 days to go and i'm both excited & nervous. It's been a long journey with lots of stages to scale through. This is the last stage, & i know God has given me victory already in Jesus name, Amen. By His grace, power & favour, i will come back here to testify that my interview was a success and i got the visa, Amen.
Hope you had a nice weekend??.... Take care & see u all on Thursday when i come here to share my visa success story in Jesus name, Amen!!
Much Love!
As the title suggests, it's count down to my visa interview. It's precisely 3 days to go and i'm both excited & nervous. It's been a long journey with lots of stages to scale through. This is the last stage, & i know God has given me victory already in Jesus name, Amen. By His grace, power & favour, i will come back here to testify that my interview was a success and i got the visa, Amen.
Hope you had a nice weekend??.... Take care & see u all on Thursday when i come here to share my visa success story in Jesus name, Amen!!
Much Love!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
So Far....
So finally my school recently notified me that my i-20 is ready and advised me of my SEVIS no. which i have used to book for my interview. My interview is on the 4th of August!!!....Thank you Jesus. I will come back with testimonies in Jesus' name. I haven't recieved physical copy of my i-20 yet but should get that soon. (some kind of drama happened while paying for express delivery of my i-20, i'm getting it sorted out ).
Right now, i am preparing for my visa interview, browsing through various sites for tips on visa interview questions.
Below are the steps you need to take after your i-20 is ready:
1) Visit this website and complete the DS-160 form : http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng/ng-niv-ds160complete.html
2) Pay for the Visa fee at any GTBank branch and get the payment reciept (MRV receipt)
3) Schedule your visa appointment here: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng/ng-niv-appointmentschedule.html
4) Pay your $200 SEVIS fee atleast 3 days before your visa interview. Online payments are not accepted in Nigeria. You can either pay by money order (get a relative/friend in the States to do that for you) or you'd have to go to any Ecobank branch in Cotonou (Benin republic) to make the payments. Keep your receipt very well, it will be requested for during the interview
5) By now you should have received physical copy of your i-20 . Get all the other documents ready things like, Admission letter, GRE/GMAT/TOEFL/SAT score reports, Bank statements, Statement of result/Certificate, SEVIS & Visa payment receipts, Valid Int'l Passport, one passport photo, every other document your school has told you is important
6) Prepare for the interview, don't just go there without preparation, a lot of websites have tips on this. Use goooooogle & research!!!
7) Pray, Fast and commit everything into God's hands for his perfect Will to be done. The bible says except the Lord builds a house, they that labor, labor but in vain. This is what determines it all- PRAYER, God's Favor. Pray cos everything depends on it
8) Go for your interview
9) Come out with a testimony (Visa Approved!!!!!)..... Amen
Much Love!
Right now, i am preparing for my visa interview, browsing through various sites for tips on visa interview questions.
Below are the steps you need to take after your i-20 is ready:
1) Visit this website and complete the DS-160 form : http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng/ng-niv-ds160complete.html
2) Pay for the Visa fee at any GTBank branch and get the payment reciept (MRV receipt)
3) Schedule your visa appointment here: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng/ng-niv-appointmentschedule.html
4) Pay your $200 SEVIS fee atleast 3 days before your visa interview. Online payments are not accepted in Nigeria. You can either pay by money order (get a relative/friend in the States to do that for you) or you'd have to go to any Ecobank branch in Cotonou (Benin republic) to make the payments. Keep your receipt very well, it will be requested for during the interview
5) By now you should have received physical copy of your i-20 . Get all the other documents ready things like, Admission letter, GRE/GMAT/TOEFL/SAT score reports, Bank statements, Statement of result/Certificate, SEVIS & Visa payment receipts, Valid Int'l Passport, one passport photo, every other document your school has told you is important
6) Prepare for the interview, don't just go there without preparation, a lot of websites have tips on this. Use goooooogle & research!!!
7) Pray, Fast and commit everything into God's hands for his perfect Will to be done. The bible says except the Lord builds a house, they that labor, labor but in vain. This is what determines it all- PRAYER, God's Favor. Pray cos everything depends on it
8) Go for your interview
9) Come out with a testimony (Visa Approved!!!!!)..... Amen
Much Love!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Helpful Sites
I'm so excited to have started this blog. It seems to make my journey to grad school 'realer' (if there's any word like that...lol). I'd like to share links of some forum/discussion sites that helped me during my GRE & TOEFL examination preparations, application processes,e.t.c. These are sites built by Indian students who have passed through the hurdle and are helping other students with good information.
If you are planning on doing your Masters in the US, UK, Canada, Europe, anywhere around the world, then you can visit these sites, they'd be of immense help.
If you are planning on doing your Masters in the US, UK, Canada, Europe, anywhere around the world, then you can visit these sites, they'd be of immense help.
Much Love!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The Quest...
This blog is about my journey to Grad School. I hope you find it interesting :-)
Rewind to 2009, i finally made up my mind to go do my Masters after a very long time in the labour market. The question then became, which school do i go to and where?, definitely not a Naija university...smh. UK seemed to be the destination for most Nigerian graduates but i wanted something more unique and not very common amongst Nigerian graduates (i guess) & so i decided on US. US quality of educated boasts to be one of the best in the world what with over 50% of their universities making it to top 500 universities in the world. Their curriculum is very integrated and tedious but has a lot ot of rewards in the long run so i decided to stick with it. Did i forget to mention?, the school fees is astronaumical, like an entire village's treasury, yes!...lol
Anyways, below is a Chronological order of my journey till date:
September 2009 - Caught the vision
September 2010 - Wrote the GRE
November 2010 - Wrote the TOEFL
December 2010 - Submitted my applications - to about six schools in all (talk of a lot of application fees being paid)
March 2011 - Was rejected in four of the schools :( very sad i tell you but got admission from one
April 2011 - Got admission from the last school & hoooray!!!!!.....it came with partial funding
Next step is i-20 & F1 Visa processing..... The good Lord that began this good work in me, will complete and perfect it, in Jesus name, Amen.
Will keep making regular update as events unfold.
Much Love!
Rewind to 2009, i finally made up my mind to go do my Masters after a very long time in the labour market. The question then became, which school do i go to and where?, definitely not a Naija university...smh. UK seemed to be the destination for most Nigerian graduates but i wanted something more unique and not very common amongst Nigerian graduates (i guess) & so i decided on US. US quality of educated boasts to be one of the best in the world what with over 50% of their universities making it to top 500 universities in the world. Their curriculum is very integrated and tedious but has a lot ot of rewards in the long run so i decided to stick with it. Did i forget to mention?, the school fees is astronaumical, like an entire village's treasury, yes!...lol
Anyways, below is a Chronological order of my journey till date:
September 2009 - Caught the vision
September 2010 - Wrote the GRE
November 2010 - Wrote the TOEFL
December 2010 - Submitted my applications - to about six schools in all (talk of a lot of application fees being paid)
March 2011 - Was rejected in four of the schools :( very sad i tell you but got admission from one
April 2011 - Got admission from the last school & hoooray!!!!!.....it came with partial funding
Next step is i-20 & F1 Visa processing..... The good Lord that began this good work in me, will complete and perfect it, in Jesus name, Amen.
Will keep making regular update as events unfold.
Much Love!
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