10 STRATEGIC TIPS FOR UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS IN THE COMING YEAR 2014...ALSO TO BE READ BEFORE FILLING YOUR JAMB REGISTRATION FORMS!

[caption id="attachment_8515" align="alignleft" width="412"] UNIABUJA-JAMB-EXAMINATION-[/caption]

How to be successful in Jamb 2014 Examination

Tip 1. Following the words of the JAMB Registrar after the 2013 exercise, Prof Dibu Ojerinde said: “We have gone digital in JAMB.” What he meant by ‘going digital’ is that  in the Jamb 2014/2015 UTME examination the Computer Based Test is likely to be more popular than it was in 2013 . To avoid surprises in the exam hall, we encourage participants to learn how to operate a computer system which is as simple as ABC. In the examination hall, your computer will be “timed”  and when it reaches the allotted time, it will switch off, even if you have not answered any question! So the call to be fast is important.

Tip 2. All admission-seeking candidates in the Jamb 2014, mostly candidates from  the Southern states are advised to make early registrations  to avoid missing out on available centers. Last season (Jamb 2013), with a record number of 1.8 million candidates centres were exhausted  within three months of beginning of registrations, and late registrants were pushed to the North, north east and north central zones  to take their examinations.If you are not used to the the north, why risk going there to write your Jamb exam? A lot of candidates missed  last year’s jamb exams due to this problem.So we encourage you to purchase the form  and register VERY EARLY!

Tip 3. Applicants who wrote the JAMB 2013/2014 UTME examination and selected the Paper and Pencil Type (PPT) were basically victims of various inefficiencies of by the board, with majority of them, forced to settle with scores that are not theirs. We therefore advise candidates applying for the JAMB 2014/2015 UTME to thread carefully, on what  type of exam to select, We recommend the Computer Based Test (CBT) and if you are good with computers, and there is no need to be scared of it. From last year’s experience, many candidates who chose CBT came out with flying colours.

Tip 4. From statistics, over 1.8 million students registered  for the 2013 exams but less than 500,000  were going to be admitted.Let us also note that  about 1.2 million students may also be in their final secondary school years now.So more than 2 million candidates may  participate in the next exams in 2014. We therefore suggest an all-round  preparations by candidates. One way to beat  JAMB is to read more tips on http://lagosbooksclub.com  and her sister blogs.


Tip 5. Only very confident candidates should select from the most popular institutions such as UNILAG,OAU,UI,UNN,UNIBEN,UNILORIN,UNIZIK,FUTO,UNIPORT,ABU...


These are about the most popular institutions in Nigeria. The reason why we recommend that you stay away from these universities is to boost your chances of admission and not because you are not intelligent, Admission slots are very limited and the competition for these institutions is fiercer. Also if a Federal University is not your catchment area, then your chances of getting admitted is equal to zero. But still, if you must choose any of them please also look for courses that are not too competitive. Take note of all these before you register.


Tips 6. All candidates  are  also advised to be very careful in their selection of courses.It is no news that the following courses USUALLY have the highest number of applicants.
• Medicine And Surgery
• Economics
• Accounting
• Law/Civil Law
• Pharmacy etc.
• Mechanical Engr/Civil/Elect Elect etc.

Selecting one of the above means you will be competing with thousands of candidates for the space, which is likely to be lesser than hundreds in all the Institutions. But if you are however interested in any of the above courses, you must learn how to balance your selections appropriately to increase your chances of getting admitted. Ensure you also select courses such as EDUCATION that have fewer numbers of candidates. By so doing, you can be sure of a higher probability of admission.You may thereafter apply for a change of course after been admitted. This suggestion is to  boost your chances of and not because you are not intelligent.The reality is that the slots of many of these courses are limited, competition is higher and you are getting older.After factoring in ASUU there is a possibility may get discouraged or age  before ones time. Hence, make hay while the sun shines.

Tip 7. These days it has also become important  that you know about the accreditation status of the course(s) you want to apply for in your choice Institutions before submitting your application.

What is accreditation of  a course?
Some university offer courses that have not been approved by the National Universities Commission (NUC), and if you end up in one of those departments not eventually approved you would have wasted your years for nothing. You won’t be given any original certificate by the University! For example; Medicine and Surgery has NOT been accredited in the Benue State University, BSUM and many others Universities, and candidates  admitted there might  end up spending 8+ years in vain.

How will you know if your course has been accredited in your choice institution?
You can know this from the Jamb 2014 Brochure that will be given to you when you purchase the Jamb 2014-2015 UTME Form.


Tip 8. Most Institutions require a cut-off of 240 in the JAMB-UTME. (example of such institution is University of Ilorin) the minimum cut off for Medicine in Unilorin is 240 and 220+ for major courses, while admission at the University of Ibadan and Unilag begins with your O-Level results, therefore, its very important that you have the basic requirements of the Institution before applying for admission. In fact, this apply to almost all the Institutions in Nigeria. Ensure you have your COMPLETE O’LEVEL RESULTS for your chosen courses before buying Jamb, if you don’t have… you are only going to frustrate yourself. Even when you are admitted, you will be screened out after they collect your acceptance  and school fees.

Tip 9. DO NOT apply for admission into Institutions outside your catchment areas.You lower your chances of being admitted by doing so

What are catchment areas?(See your Jamb Brochure for more notes in this)

Tip 10. Take note: Once you have submitted your application form for the JAMB 2014/2015 UTME and gotten registered through an approved centre there is no more opportunity to initiate any change.Therefore, we advice candidates to check all the fields properly, including passport, names,  institutions of choice and fingerprints before submission.This is because all would be verified one time or the other along ehe way before you are admitted for the Examination.

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• Reminders for Jamb 2014/2015... Registration/exam Date,recommended Textbooks to Be Read for Use of English...and Notes on Approved Registration Centers!


• Jamb 2014/2015 Reminders...read Before You Fill Your Application Form!...(part 1)

PREGNANT AT 18, BEST GRADUATING STUDENT AT 25...IS SHE AN ICON TO EMULATE?

[caption id="attachment_23264" align="alignleft" width="400"] Aishat with her son, Damilola[/caption]

Seven years after an unwanted pregnancy forced her to drop out of the University of Ilorin, Aishat Farooq emerges the best graduating student of the Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, reports Temitayo Famutimi

When Aishat Farooq gained admission into the University of Ilorin at 15, to study Zoology, little did she know that she was not going to be an alumnus of the institution. That was in 2003.

Despite the fact that she was a high flyer in her first two years in UNILORIN, the now 25-year-old indigene of Ilorin West-Local Government Area of Kwara State got distracted along the line. She played the campus love game and got a shocking result: she got pregnant.

It was in 2006 and in her third year. She was pregnant for a fellow student whom she had been dating. She was disappointed in herself and thought the whole world was crashing on her.  Yet, she vowed not to terminate the pregnancy.

Although she wanted to continue her studies in the university,  she became disillusioned and dropped out at 18. She sought consolation in trading.

But her father, Mr. Shehu Farooq, who believed that his daughter’s academic prowess should not be wasted,  was determined to get her back on the academic track.

Today, Aishat has a different story to tell. On Saturday, she stood tall among her peers at the 5th convocation ceremony of Bells University, Ota, Ogun State,  where she emerged the overall best graduating student with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.93.

“The rebel in me won,” she declared while giving the valedictory address on behalf of the 208 graduating students of the university.

“I hope my story will inspire at least one person to change his or her circumstance. I was pregnant at 18 and by 19 I was already a mother. I had disappointed my father who believed so much in me. He had such big dreams for me and feared the dreams would become unfulfilled,” she added.

Breaking the news of the pregnancy to her father,  who was at the time based in the northern part of the country, was not easy. Aishat’s mother, Fatima, who stayed in Lagos with the family, did not break the “sad news” to the man until the lady was almost due. The mum feared her husband would be too angry.

Fatima narrated to our correspondent, “Looking back, we knew her to be very brilliant. But all of a sudden she got pregnant. Though her father and I were always discussing on the telephone, I hid it from him. Whenever he said he would  be coming to Lagos to visit us, I  would quickly chip it in that I would  like to be the one to visit. So, I ensured I was the one always visiting him.

“That was how I managed the situation until the pregnancy was eight months. But even when we broke the news to him, he felt really bad. Although there was nothing he could do, he couldn’t go out for three days.”

Aishat studied Business Administration with specialisation in Human Resources Management, and received the Vice-Chancellor’s Prize for the Overall Best Graduating Student with a cash reward of N50,000 and a plaque. She also won the College of Management Sciences Prize and Department of Business Administration Prize for the Best Graduating Student.

Speaking with our correspondent after she received the awards, Aishat, whose face beamed with smiles, expressed gratitude to her dad for not losing hope in her during her trying time.

She noted that the popularly-held notion that the child that goes astray belongs to the mother, while the good ones belong to the father, was not applicable in her situation as her father did not give up on her.

Asked why her dad had so much hoped in her, she stated that her history of academic excellence from childhood right to the university was a major driving force.

Aishat, who attended Nazareth Nursery and Primary School, Lagos; Penny International College, Lagos and Model Secondary School, Maitama, Abuja,  said she bagged several academic awards while growing up and noted that she secured admission to UNILORIN the same year she completed her secondary education.

She noted, “I did exceptionally well and bagged awards in the schools I attended. I had the overall best result at the Senior Secondary School Certificate level at Model Secondary School, Maitama, Abuja. In fact in UNILORIN, I was on the first class grade in my first year but in 200 Level, I dropped to second class upper division because I had already started getting distracted by the boys.

“It just happened that things turned out the way it did. But here I am, a product of God’s unending mercies, unconditional love and grace – all coupled with the faith my dad had in me and my fierce determination.

“I’m a goal getter. I push myself hard. Even here (BELLSTECH) in spite of being a mother, I was pushing for the best despite the challenges. I wanted to make my dad proud again. Once you are determined, nothing is impossible. Nothing can stop you.”

She said her decision to study Business Administration as against the sciences, which she was studying in UNILORIN, was informed by her two-year experience in the world of business after she dropped out of university.

She explained that incessant strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, however, informed her decision to attend a private university. “Age was no longer on my side and I wanted to do it fast. And my dad could afford it because he was a businessman,” she added.

Asked if she was involved in any relationship at the Bells, she explained that she was a popular “snob” on campus because the majority of male students were younger than her. Besides, she did not want to get distracted or disappoint her parents and herself again.

Aishat,  who has been posted to Lagos State to observe the mandatory National Youth Service Corps scheme, said, “If you ask around you will be told that I was a snob. My favourite spot was my room. I rarely went out of the room for social events. I went to mosque. However, when I contested for the president of my departmental association, Business Administration Students Association, the Nigerian system worked against me.

“I lost to my male opponent. Although I had plans to take some giant strides if I won,  especially in the academic aspect for my fellow students, the fact that I was not the  type of person who hangs out worked against me. I didn’t have a social life.”

She said she has no plans for marriage for now. She wants to pursue a master’s degree programme in Human Resources in the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. She added that she also plans to work in a corporate environment to garner experience and afterwards go back to the university to teach “as a way of giving back.”

The second child in a family of eight children, Aishat brought her six-year-old son, Damilola, to the convocation. It was, however, learnt that the Edo State-born father of the boy has since got married to another woman.

She noted that her major challenge on campus was the randomness of classes which denied her the opportunity of spending quality time with her son while her stay in the university lasted.

“We had visiting professors who came into the campus at anytime. Although we had schedules, many of them had a bit of flexible time.  Sometimes on Sunday when I took permission to visit my child in Lagos, my classmates would call me up on the phone that there  was going to be a class. Because attendance is very important, I had to rush down. This affected me a little,” she added.

Aishat’s father advised parents to give their children and wards the best of tutelage and close monitoring. He noted that he least expected the feat achieved by his daughter as he was at a time disturbed that “she could no longer make it.”

Asked if it was  lack of adequate monitoring that made Aishat go astray at UNILORIN, he said,  “Let’s just say that is how God wants it. You see,  70 per cent of the fault is on us the parents. Parents should give their children good supervision and tutelage. With this, they cannot derail. I thank God for her because it’s is not easy to have raised her from grass to grace.

“I screamed on the phone the day I learnt she was pregnant. I started asking questions: When, where and how. I burst into tears. But today, she is a new being. And I know the mistake will not repeat itself. My expectations for her are that she should fly higher and higher.”

Some other graduands who distinguished themselves were also recognised at the convocation ceremony.

Kolawole Lawal,  who finished from the Department of Economics with a CGPA of 4.73, received the Olusegun Obasanjo’s Prize for being the best graduating student with outstanding academic performance and leadership qualities. Former President Obasanjo who is the Chief Promoter of the university, also attended the event.

Francis Sogunle,  from the Department of Computer Science, who had a CGPA of 4.74, received the Chancellor’s Prize for excelling in external competitions of academic nature.

At the ceremony, 208 students were awarded first degrees with Aishat and 13 others being conferred with first class degrees,  while 64 of them got second class upper degrees; 83 bagged second class lower; just as 43 were awarded third class degrees. Meanwhile four of the graduands finished with pass degrees.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Isaac Adeyemi, charged the graduates to be patriotic and dedicated to nation building.

“Our beloved country is currently going through a rather stressful period. All hands must be on deck to seek lasting solutions to militancy and insurgencies and disregard for the rule of law. This is the time to prove your worth as you can’t afford to fold your arms or sit on the fence,” he observed.

http://www.punchng.com/education/pregnant-at-18-best-graduating-student-at-25/