“If you work hard for it, it is only a dream for a little time”- Umunnakwe Amarachi T.
My name is Amara and I am smart. Failure is not something I am used to, and so when in 2015, I applied to five schools for graduate study and got rejected by all, it was a major blow. But then something else is that I never sit and cry, I will keep pushing but in better ways.
I joined EducationUSA in 2016 and that was a very good decision towards achieving my aim. The first day I came, I met up with Mrs. U and immediately she gave me some advice after analyzing my background and that till date is one of the best, if not the best advice I got towards my getting fully funded education. She said to me “Is not only by first class o, you need to have some research experience if you will go for a PhD”. I jumped right into action. I was posted to Unilag for my NYSC and it was all but impossible to move your posting from any department in Unilag. I did not let that deter me, I went out of my way, in fact, I went out of everybody’s way (and I got a query for doing this too, but I did not really care) to get posted from an Administrative office to Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department to work as a part RA and this was a good move for me because it gave my resume more girth.
I also volunteered for a year, and it was a very daunting and financially depressing task, but I volunteered for less privileged children and that kept me going. So yes, you should volunteer if you have the time and do something that you can be happy at the idea of doing (so I was so sad my pocket was getting drained because I had to travel for 6 hours of the day to do this, but what had me going is the idea of what I was doing, helping children and communities who have little or nothing, get better).
Apart from these, I had many other accolades that helped boost my resume, (Best Graduating Student, Female, from a male dominated field), and many others that I think is common to every one of us really, nothing special.
Then I followed judiciously all advice of the EducationUSA advisers, I attended the sessions and each one of them provided more insight into the world of school hunting. I worked closely with my advisers and I got more than a few resources that were very helpful. So sometimes you could feel out of it, or just plain use some language you should not use for an official email, they could give you some template for the action you want to take.
Now, the most important was that I was an OF member. OF means Opportunity Fund. So as an OF member, the bulk of my financial burden towards achieving this feat was borne by the EducationUSA section of the consulate and it was indeed a big part of my success because imagine having the will and not having a way. That indeed is a recipe for frustration.
So in all, the best advice I would give:
Always attend, listen and apply.
The other students you meet at EducationUSA sessions are a great resource, talk to people.
Ask questions from your advisors.
Your advisors are very experienced; you should listen to them.
Apply to safety schools (the advisors will tell you this).
Build yourself first.
Know what you are up against.
Be ready to face it all.
NEVER GET TIRED
SOMETIMES GOOD COMES IN THE LAST MINUTE, KEEP PUSHING.
Everyone is still running their race and have even more to achieve as they go on, and I hope we all get to where we have our eyes.
