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33 NIGERIAN STUDENTS RECEIVE $2.92 MILLION SCHOLARSHIPS FROM US VARSITIES
For the 2024–2025 academic year, a total of $2.92 million in full scholarships have been awarded to 33 Nigerian students to attend American universities and colleges.
The scholarships were obtained through the US Consulate General’s’ Opportunity Funds Program in Lagos.
The program’s goal is to provide more highly qualified overseas students with access to US higher education institutions, even if they are unable to pay for their education up front.
“The 33 departing students — 10 undergraduate and 23 graduate students — will be studying a variety of subjects including biomedical engineering; computer science; mechanical engineering; earth and planetary sciences; organic and medicinal chemistry; civil, construction, and environmental engineering; among others.
“Following a competitive selection process, the successful students received financial aid that covered expenses involved in the college application process such as standardized tests, application fees, U.S. visa and SEVIS fees as well as air travel to the United States. EducationUSA advisers worked closely with the students through regularly scheduled meetings, seminars, and bootcamps, to assist them throughout the application process,” the Consulate announced in a statement on Wednesday.
During a reception held in Lagos to honor the students heading to the US, Consul General Will Stevens encouraged the students to join as many clubs and organizations as possible to enhance their international student experience and to make the most of the opportunities American universities have to offer.
“This Fall, you will join the over 17,000 Nigerian students studying in the United States. You have successfully navigated the daunting U.S. college and university admissions process and we are so excited for your future. You have excelled in Nigeria, and I have no doubt that you will continue that path of academic excellence,” Stevens told the departing students.
Chigozie Odo, a scholar from the 2023 Opportunity Fund Program, was fully funded to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of South Carolina.
His doctoral work will concentrate on immunotherapy in an effort to provide long-term cancer treatment alternatives.
Odo, who was the family’s only provider and father, passed away in his second year of college, and he thanked the US government for paying the application fees up front for US universities under the Opportunity Funds Program.
“My dream of studying in the United States which seemed impossible is now a reality,” he added