SOMETHING ABOUT RECOMMENDATION LETTERS THAT ISN'T TALKED ABOUT YET WIELDS STRONG INFLUENCE ON SCHOLARSHIP OR GRADUATE SCHOOL APPLICATIONS

When sending a request to someone to submit a recommendation letter for your scholarship or graduate school application, PLEASE, waive your right to view or review the recommendation.

The strongest recommendation is the one written confidentially (without you seeing it). If you don't waive this right, the perception is that you'll see the content of the recommendation, which encourages social desirability bias on the side of the recommender.

Ultimately, such recommendation letters will affect the admissions committee's decision.

Here's a sample of HOW TO REQUEST FOR APPLICATION FEE WAIVER on the basis of financial need (economic hardship).
 
I just stumbled on the application fee waiver request emails I sent to program coordinators and graduate school directors when I was applying for admission in the U.S., and decided to share with you all.

REPOST, tag friends, and bookmark for future reference🔁📌 Let’s start with Application Fee Waiver Request Tips

✅ Check the application fee waiver policy to ensure you meet the waiver requirement(s) before sending emails (especially to graduate school coordinators).

✅ When a university states that waivers are given to economically disadvantaged students, that's a green light, shoot that email.

✅ If the grad school's waiver policy says nothing about giving waiver on basis of financial need, resort to your program director or coordinator.

✅ Even when a university website says NO APPLICATION FEE WAIVER, consider requesting for a waiver from your program director or coordinator.

✅ Don't be discouraged because a university website says there’s NO application fee waiver for int'l students. Sometimes, departments have waivers, but you wouldn't know until you ask.
 
For instance, my university doesn't offer app fee waiver, but my department waived my app fee. However, they do this at their own disposal.
 
✅ You could also get an application fee waiver by attending virtual open house events organized by universities and different programs. I utilized this strategy a lot.

HERE IS A LIST OF 55 APPLICATION FEE WAIVERS FOR 2023-2024 ADMISSION CYCLES

- For universities across USA and Canada

- For undergraduate and graduate admissions

Retweet and save thread for future reference 1. West Virginia University Institute of Technology, USA
(All programs)


2. Wayne State University, USA
Note: All graduate programs except J .D., M.D., and Pharm.D. programs.


For undergraduates, use code: WSU2024

3. American University, USA [undergrad]

Check the box that says you prequalify for an application fee waiver.


4. Northeastern University, College of Engineering, USA
Note: Apply between August 2 – August 31.

Code: Launch2023.


5. Arizona State University, USA [undergrad]

Simply answer questions that apply in the application fee waiver section


6.  Aquinas College, USA


7.  Boston University, USA:

"Our application fee waiver request form will go live on September 1, 2023"


8.  University of Idaho, Department of Chemistry, USA


9.  Cornell University (All programs): Granted on the basis of financial hardship


10. Illinois Wesleyan University, USA
admissions.wvutech.edu/about-tech/faqs
gradschool.wayne.edu/admissions/int…

Sample of a well-written, award-winning Statement of Purpose (SoP) that won Rishabh Jain full-ride PhD scholarships at MIT and UPenn:
 
The writer, Rishabh Jain, received fully-funded Ph.D. offers from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and MIT (an American university that has ranked as the Best University in the World for many years).
 
🔁Kindly RETWEET: A scholarship and graduate school applicant on your timeline needs this. Let's discuss the strengths of this SoP to see what made it outstanding, using a paragraph-by-paragraph analysis.
 
Although an SoP is NOT the only admission requirement, it is an avenue for an applicant to market themselves to the professors on an admissions committee and convince them on why they should be admitted and funded.

Dear brothers and sisters in scholarship,
 
I present to you👇
 
LIST OF 132 AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES THAT HAVE WAIVED TOEFL/IELTS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS💥
 
✅Apply to these universities without writing TOEFL/IELTS exam
✅Verified and confirmed: I’ve included their official websites to confirm these waivers
✅You qualify if English is your country’s official language
✅If your country is on their TOEFL exempt list
✅If your (un)official transcript was prepared in English
✅If your previous education was in English
 
Retweet, someone on your timeline may need this 🔁 Take Note of the FOLLOWING:
 
✅ A university may waive but your program may insist you submit. Be sure to double-check with your program.
 
✅ Be sure they offer funding for int’l students
 
✅ Confirm if it’ll affect your chances of getting funding (scholarship)
 
✅ Getting a waiver is good, but if you can afford it, write English test to boost your chances. I got 6 fully-funded offers from 5 US universities without TOEFL/IELTS, you too can.
 
✅ Some universities stated these waivers on their undergraduate webpage but the waiver also applies to their (post)graduate programs.

A Sample of an EXCELLENT SoP that got Jessica 3 fully-funded scholarship offers in USA🇺🇸
 
This SoP got Jessica fully-funded graduate admissions from 3 prestigious universities in the US🇺🇸
 
1️⃣Carnegie Mellon
2️⃣Stanford University
3️⃣University of Washington
 
✅Let's do detailed… https://t.co/69kyHVe8kutwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
What made her SoP exceptional and captivating?

1️⃣Identification of problem and solution: In the first paragraph, she identified a problem and wrapped her area of interest around "finding the solution" to that problem.

2️⃣Level of preparedness: In paragraphs 2 and 3, she stated… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

A 15-STEP-GUIDE ON HOW TO DISCOVER, APPLY, AND WIN MULTIPLE SCHOLARSHIPS ABROAD👇

Someone on your timeline is in search of scholarship opportunities and this thread may be all they need to be in their dream country by this time next year.

THREAD: Open, Like, and Retweet 🔁 1. Use to get a list of Top 100 universities in your preferred study destination (USA, Canada, UK etc).

2. Trim the list by removing the universities that don’t offer your program of interest.

3. Continue downsizing the list using some of the following:

(a) Scholarship availability (Assistantships/Funding)

(b) GRE/GMAT and English proficiency requirements - TOEFL/IELTS (are these waived or required?).

- I got 6 fully-funded offers without writing any of these. If you don't have the resources, you may want to focus only on schools that have waived these tests.

(c) Application fee waivers: Focus on universities that are willing to waive your application fee.

- All 6 offers I got came from universities that waived my application fees. The only school where I paid an application fee rejected my application. Hence, nobody should make you think or believe that "inability to pay an application fee is a red flag, a sign of inability to afford graduate school."

- However, if you have the money, pay. The more schools you apply to, the higher your chances of getting a fully-funded scholarship.

(d) Research interest: is there a professor in this university doing your kind of research?

(e) Internal grants and fellowships: Grad school is tough; you need financial support. As an international student, before applying to a university, check and be sure they have several internal research and travel grants that you can compete for and win.

- I recently won a research grant from my university and my program also supported the research with a department-funded grant. That's the kind of academic environment you should look forward to joining.4icu.org

10 Lifesaving ChatGPT Prompts for Scholarship and Grad School Applicants

This thread contains powerful and helpful prompts that will assist you from the searching stage to the visa stage of your scholarship application journey.

Retweet, someone on your timeline may need this. 1. Looking for a list of scholarships that you can apply to? Use the prompt below:

Prompt: Provide a list of scholarships that a Nigerian who studied [Journalism] can apply to for a master's or PhD program.

Instruction: Provide two separate lists, one for master's scholarships… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

HND to the WORLD 🌍

I want to openly congratulate this Nigerian graduate (with HND qualification) for securing 5 admissions, 1 waitlist, and 1 rejection out of 7 applications for Fall 2023.

3 of these admissions are fully-funded.

He's coming to the United States of America in… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

HOW TO PREPARE AND ACE A GRAD SCHOOL INTERVIEW

After applying to a master's or PhD program abroad, you may be invited to an interview so they can learn more about your interests, which aids them in their admission and funding decisions.

Questions & Answers (what worked for me): 1. Choose an interview time/date that works for you: Most times, they’ll let you pick an available time slot. Consider time zone difference.

2. No impostor syndrome: You were invited to the interview because you ranked high on the application pool, and they’re interested in

1/n

If you don't want to read, don't get into a Ph.D. program.

You MUST read. Every Professor has a weekly graded assignment to ensure you're doing the readings.

You MUST contribute to and lead class discussions.

Every Friday, I print all my readings for next week - articles/books I prefer hard copies because:

1️⃣To protect my eyes. Having my eyes on the screen 24/7 isn't safe, even with antiglare glasses.
2️⃣I like to manually highlight key points using multicolored highlighters.

Depending on my enrollment, I read 10-15 articles and book chapters every wk

On February 17, 2022 (exactly one year ago today), I completed my service year and was named the Most Influential Corps Member of the Year.

I ended my service with a fully-funded scholarship from Kent State University and a PhD interview invitation from The University of Iowa 🇺🇸 When my Zonal Inspector handed me the award, she said, "Congratulations Ugochukwu, keep influencing the world."

Those words are evergreen on my mind.

One year later, I'm still on the mission to influence the world.

"We rise by lifting others"✌️

By the way, her services cost just ₦7million👌

Where una dey see this kind money?

Let's talk: Would you care about scholarships or studying abroad if you had ₦7 million? For context: This is not an advert. I also don't offer such services.

Just want to understand why some people are willing to part with N7m to study and work abroad - and I'm already seeing some justifications in the comments section.

I didn't give anyone shishi, why should you?

The ULTIMATE guide to applying and passing the U.S. F1 (Study) Visa Interview in one attempt

Thread includes:

✅35 likely interview Questions and Answers
✅Process explained
✅Required documents revealed
✅Uncountable tips and advice

Retweet, someone on your TL may need this! First things first:

✅Gain admission

✅Proof of Funds: Either get a fully-funded offer or have enough money to cover your cost of attendance

✅Request for Form I-20 from your university

✅Pay I-901 SEVIS fee ($350) th.usembassy.gov/wp-content/upl…

2/n

This was my plan until two days to my departure, my family organized a 10hr-meeting warning me in advance that they don't want to hear that I came back with oyibo wife & children for them oh🤣😭

I told my Nigerian girlfriend about the meeting and she said "my God never sleeps"🤣 To provide context (Cos I've observed that some persons misunderstood the tweet): I do not know the couple and I'm not the man in the photographs. I only used the pictures to tell my story.

Dear brothers and sisters in scholarship,

If you're still an undergrad or currently doing your master's with the intention to further your studies abroad via scholarship, here's a list of 15 things you should be doing to prepare yourself.

🔁🔃Retweet, someone may need this! 1. Start thinking about what kind of research you're interested in. If in your final year, try and work on a thesis or project that aligns with this interest. You can scan through program (i.e., department) websites in your preferred country to figure out in-demand research areas

In 2022, I bagged 6 fully-funded scholarships from 5 R1 universities in USA that cumulatively worth over $1.5million (₦1billion+) and I’ve decided to teach others how to win scholarships to study abroad for FREE
 
Here’s a thread containing all info you need.

Open and Retweet🔁 BEGINNER’S GUIDE
 
✅15-step-guide to winning scholarships:

https://twitter.com/ugochukwucfr/status/1573759097933123587

 
✅Winning multiple scholarships abroad: The strategy that worked for me

https://twitter.com/ugochukwucfr/status/1563571083181142016

✅How to search for universities to apply to:

https://twitter.com/ugochukwucfr/status/1573742131134488576

3 EASY WAYS TO SEARCH FOR UNIVERSITIES (FOR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION)
...There are thousands of universities in the world, how do I search for these schools easily?

A detailed thread!

Retweet for other scholarship applicants to see🔁 1. 4icu.org for global search (all universities in the world).

✅ Lets you scroll through A-Z list of world universities
✅ Lets you search by continent
✅ Lets you search by country
✅ Lets you search by state
✅ Lets you search by religious affiliations

2/10

A SAMPLE OF AN EXCELLENT SOP

This SoP got Jessica fully-funded graduate admissions from 3 prestigious universities in USA🇺🇸

1️⃣Carnegie Mellon
2️⃣Stanford University
3️⃣University of Washington

✅She didn't mention her GPA, why?

Someone needs to see this, RETWEET🔂

©️Jessica Su Learn how to communicate your problem statement, experiences, fit, research interests from Jessica.

Did you notice she didn't mention her GPA? This is to show you that there's no one way around it.

She focused on other achievements.

It looks like applicants admitted for the Spring semester have started arriving the U.S. ahead of January resumption.

Don't let what happened to me happen to you. Get an iPhone or a recent Samsung that uses nano sim to escape network compatibility issues.

Most Tecno, Infinix... ...and other popular Nigerian phone brands don't work here because of difference in network band.

People will tell you "my Tecno, Infinix, Nokia, Huawei, Itel, Gionee, Xiaomi, Oppo works here," don't listen unless you want to experience it and serve as a "scapegoat" for others🤣

I've seen several lists of universities accepting HND on Twitter.

I sent an email to one of those universities and they told me they don't accept HND. I had to embark on a confirmation spree.

I have emailed over 100 universities on those lists.

They're gradually responding. How it started: Someone told me on LinkedIn that he applied to 2 schools in USA based on the lists he saw on Twitter, only to be informed by the admission committees that his applications were rejected because they don't recognize ND+HND qualification. I had to confirm.