EducationUSA Undergraduate and Postgraduate Scholarships: 2024 Opportunity Funds Program

The United States Mission Nigeria seeks to identify highly academically qualified and motivated, low-income, Senior Secondary 3 (SS3) or 12th-grade students in Nigeria to join the EducationUSA Opportunity Funds (OFP).

EducationUSA’s OFP mission is to assist highly-talented and determined, economically-disadvantaged students to negotiate and finance the admissions process for colleges and universities in the United States. The aim is to produce highly-skilled and widely-educated leaders to build tomorrow’s Nigeria.

EducationUSA’s OFP works closely with students through regularly scheduled meetings and seminars to assist them throughout the application process to secure admission and scholarships for colleges and universities in the United States. Opportunity Funds finances all costs of the application process, including registration fees for required standardized examinations and provides free membership to the U.S. EducationUSA Advising Center for its participants.  Opportunity Funds expects a sincere commitment of students to give back their energy and time to the program and to their communities and to be the best they can be.

Applicants are welcome from all the states in Nigeria. However, students must be able to reach our office in Lagos or Abuja on a monthly basis during the school year, throughout school holidays, and after the WASSCE exams, for full participation. Participants will work with our EducationUSA Advisors from June of the year of selection to August of the following year to try to secure places and financial assistance to begin study in the U.S. not earlier than August of the following year.

Successful students will be part of a global network of Opportunity Funds students from many countries around the world. Click here to learn more about successful Opportunity Funds students

Note: ENTRANCE INTO THIS PROGRAM IS NO GUARANTEE OF A SCHOLARSHIP OR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO STUDY IN THE UNITED STATES.

SELECTION CRITERIA

• Strong academic record/ transcript
• Robust participation in extracurricular activities
• Involvement in leadership roles (prefectship is preferred)
• Excellent community service participation
• Financial Need
• Transcripts that show an A average or above 90%
• WAEC results (if available): 7 A’s & above (not older than 2 years old and no Cs)

If any of the criteria are not met, EducationUSA is not obliged to notify the applicant.

REQUIREMENTS

• Complete Application Form: Complete the application form electronically
• Attach a photocopy of your WAEC “O” Level results if available (from the WAEC website). (Include Cambridge A’Level or IGSCE results, if applicable.)(limit 1MB)
• Request a teacher or your school principal to complete the attached letter of recommendation form, attesting to your character, talent and skills.  Please do not include a basic testimonial that does not talk about you as an individual.
• Upload a scanned copy of your official transcript from JS1 to SS3 including mock & first term results. (limit 2 MB)
• Write three essays of 300 words each (type it in a word document, then copy & paste)
• Upload a scanned copy of any supplementary certificates of achievement (limit 1MB)

NOTE: Please upload all supporting documents as pdf files with proper titles e.g. “John Doe Transcript”, “John Doe WAEC” etc. Documents sent via email will not be considered. Paper copies will not be accepted.

GRADUATE ELIGIBILITY

Opportunity Funds Graduate Application

There are many determined and talented, economically-disadvantaged students in Nigeria who lack only financial resources and access to information to better their educational future. The United States Mission Nigeria seeks to identify highly academically qualified and motivated, low-income, fresh graduates in Nigeria to join the EducationUSA Opportunity Funds Program (OFP).

EducationUSA’s OFP’s mission is to assist highly-talented and determined, economically-disadvantaged students to negotiate and finance the admissions process for colleges and universities in the United States. The aim is to produce highly-skilled and widely-educated leaders to build tomorrow’s Nigeria.

EducationUSA’s OFP works closely with students through regularly scheduled meetings and seminars to assist them throughout the application process to secure admission and scholarships for colleges and universities in the United States into Ph.D. programs. EducationUSA OF finances all costs of the application process, including registration fees for required standardized examinations and provides free membership to the U.S. EducationUSA Advising Center for its participants.  EducationUSA’s OFP expects a sincere commitment of students to give back their energy and time to the program and to their communities and to be the best they can be.

Applicants are welcome from all the states in Nigeria. However, applicants must be able to reach our office in Abuja or Lagos on a monthly basis, throughout any leave time, for full participation if selected. Participants will work with our EducationUSA Advisors from June of the year of selection to August of the following year or sooner to try to secure places and financial assistance to begin study in the U.S.not earlier than August of the following year.

Successful students will be part of a global network of EducationUSA OFP Scholars from many countries around the world. To learn more about successful EducationUSA OFP Scholars, visit the success stories page

Selection Criteria for Graduate Application

• Applicant must have graduated not earlier than 5 years before applying (final year students not qualified) from an accredited Nigerian University (a Master’s degree is an advantage)
• Transcripts that show a GPA of 4.5 or above on a 5.0 scale
• Degree results: First Class only
• Applicants in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields must be ready to apply for Ph.D. programs.
• Detailed Resume/CV (to include work experience and research publication)
• Robust participation in relevant work experience (at least 1-year post-NYSC)
• Selected applicants must be prepared to take the GRE test and score at least 310 or be disqualified from the program.
• Financial Need

If any of the criteria are not met, EducationUSA is not obliged to notify applicants.

REQUIREMENTS

• Copy of your university transcript-if available (PDF files only)
• Copy of Statement of Result/Degree (PDF files)
• Submit a detailed Academic Curriculum Vitae(PDF files only)
• Scanned copy of any supplementary certificates of achievement(PDF files only)
• Copy of GRE result (Recommended for Engineering students) PDF files only

WHEN IS THIS SCHOLARSHIP CLOSING

Application Timeline: March 15, 2024 – March 31, 2024

HOW TO APPLY

Application Link: CLICK HERE TO APPLY