Introduction

Hi! My name is Adaeze Daisy Okonkwo. I'm from Nigeria, and I am currently living in Cyprus. I'm 21 years old, and I just graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Near East University. A fun fact about me is that I was 14 years old when I finished high school! I spent 2 years doing apprenticeships and light work, then applied to and left for university in Ortaköy, Nicosia, at 16 years old. I moved in early October of 2020, when the Covid pandemic was at its height. To my dismay, we were forced to succumb to online classes for the majority of my first year; being cooped up at home was definitely not the international student experience I had longed for. Nevertheless, the situation gradually improved, and now, having graduated, I freelance in real estate, promotional content, management, and marketing.

My Background

I completed my secondary education at Shining Star College, which was a mere 10 minutes away from my house. During grade four of primary school, I was accelerated two grades up, to the sixth grade. Essentially, the teachers carry out evaluations on students’ learning pace and capacity, thus I was deemed to be an exceptionally bright child, and received what we call a ‘double promotion’ back home. The sixth-grade primary class is the senior class in primary. It is at this stage that everyone would prepare to sit for the entrance examination to get accepted into high school. Thus, being moved into a candidate class was rather a significant matter. Something I tend to say a lot is that every experience is like a coin; Its double sided nature is naturally inescapable. True to this, being moved 2 classes up had both positive and negative effects on my educational experience. On the positive side, I was academically stimulated and challenged by the rigorous nature of studies, as they were now at my pace. On the other hand, various negative experiences also presented themselves to me. I was, in essence, treated like a ‘prodigy’, and with that label came the expectation and pressure of not only outperforming everyone, but of comprehending concepts very quickly. Moreover, many of the older students felt it was unfair, some of my peers felt jealous, and it created a bizarre atmosphere with my friends, as they were all of a sudden forced to address me as their senior! I am indebted to the adamant mindset that overlooked all this and pushed me to succeed. Although I was always two years younger than all my classmates for the remainder of my high school education, I was not deterred by setbacks; I worked hard and finished high school at 14!

Yearning for more: Quarantine’s influence on my decision to study abroad.

Nigeria was on lockdown, and I was excruciatingly bored. It was generally acceptable to leave the house if you needed to go to the pharmacy or the supermarket, but anything outside of that was not an option! For a sociable 16-year-old to be barred from meeting her friends, quarantine was pretty stressful, and thus, I began to long for an escape. I craved to meet new people, to experience a landscape outside the confines of the 4 walls of my home. These were the conditions in which my dream of studying abroad was born.

I briefly considered Canada, the US, the UK, and even Australia, but ultimately, I chose Near East University in Cyprus for one simple reason; My older brother was studying here. At the time I was applying, he was still here, hence it was the most logical destination for me. He did not motivate me or convince me per se; however, following his footsteps was viable in the eyes of my parents, considering the fact that I was still rather young. My mother was comforted by the fact that I wouldn’t be too far from my brother, hence she had no objections to my starry-eyed dream! Beyond that, I had been told that Cyprus was a gorgeous Island, thus this sealed my decision to study in Cyprus

Application process

I applied through an application portal on the NEU website. After creating a profile, I uploaded and filled in all the necessary personal information and credentials, then I started working on the application essay. The instructions for it were pretty clear; we were required to explain why we wanted to study our chosen course. The application essay for Near East University had to be handwritten, and then scanned and uploaded to the application portal. It was completed in a fraught atmosphere. I rewrote it nearly 10 times! My mum helped me with this process; she would review it and critique the essay, giving me suggestions on how to improve it, until it was of a satisfactory standard. Despite this, I was rather confident about my application, because my grades were good. The entire process only took me one week to complete, and I did not use any mentorship services!

Stats ( A peek into the Nigerian National Examination systems)

There are 3 major examinations that can be taken when graduating high school, and I sat for all three of them. The first one was the WAEC, which is a high school leaving assessment that is taken by students across all the West African countries. This certificate essentially grants you easy access to higher education in any of the West African countries, and for that sole reason, this examination is a prime asset to leave high school with. The WAEC is compulsory for all high school students in Nigeria, and is the main result that local university admissions offices take into consideration. The second examination that I sat for is called NECO, which is Nigeria’s National Secondary Assessment. This one is not compulsory; many students, including myself, were strongly advised to sit for it, as it uplifts your stats if you don’t perform well in WAEC. Both of these can be done at any time of the year; all you need to do is apply for them.

Finally, I sat for the JAMB examination, which is run only once a year, and is compulsory for consideration by Nigerian universities. I had a few friends who were assured of the fact that they would study abroad after high school, and so they opted not to take the JAMB. Generally, however, it is almost unheard of for Nigerian high schoolers not sit for JAMB! Unlike most other countries where you send in an application to your university of choice and wait to get back your decision, the Tertiary education process happens a bit differently here. When sitting for your JAMB examinations, Students fill in an official form with a rank of their top 3 university choices across the country. JAMB then produces standardized exam scores, and it is with those scores that University places are offered. It is rather nerve-racking, comparable to asking someone out on a date and holding your breath, hoping and praying that your university will choose you back! This agency, unlike the other two, grants students the opportunity to go to universities in different states from where they reside, a key factor of why I personally chose to do it. I did JAMB twice, because I had initially wanted to do medicine, and my grades the first time round fell short of the grade thresholds for acceptance into medicine courses. The JAMB examination period ushers in a realm of pure chaos for all high school seniors in Nigeria; It was extremely stressful! Comparable to the intensity of the Gaokao, it consisted of questions in English, Math, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and was graded out of 400 points, with 200 points being the pass grade. There are no sections in the exam; thus, the randomised placement of the subject questions,  paired with the time limit, was a harrowingly arduous experience for many. I chose to use both my WAEC and NECO results for my application.

English Proficiency tests

Admission to Near East University did not require us to take the IELTS or TOEFL English proficiency tests, because Cyprus’ national language is Turkish. However, we did do an English proficiency test that was generated by the University Computer Science Department, once we arrived. It was on a website that had been made internally by their own Computer Science Department, and all international students had to take it as soon as they arrived. From what I remember, it was a fairly simple technical test, with approximately 50 questions on adjectives, nouns, punctuation, and general rules of grammar. For those whose results were below the passing grade, a year of English language lessons before they commence their course is mandatory.

NEU’s 50% International Scholarship Program

My tuition fees are €2,000 per year; however, I am on a 50% Scholarship, and thus I pay  €1,000 per year! The scholarship was automatic and did not have any award conditions, as it was offered to all applicants. The 50% Scholarship program has been commonly run over the past few years in NEU; however, an additional percentage (30%) application was initiated to encourage international applicants to join following the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, because the economic recession had struck nearly all the nations worldwide. This scholarship was an attractive factor that made Near East University especially appealing to my Mom.

Living costs

The accommodation option of the NEU dorms outlines a payment plan that is typically inclusive of utilities, internet, and electricity costs. However, I did not enjoy my time in the dorms because I felt restricted by the rules, and chose to move into an off-campus residence soon after my first year. My living costs are difficult to generalise, both due to their instability and the economic fluctuations from the time I got here until as of late. However, when I first arrived, my expenses were pretty manageable. I paid approximately £100 per month for a standard room; this has probably risen to £140. In addition to that, I was required to pay a deposit worth two months’ rent, as well as three months’ rent upfront before moving in! I also had to pay an agent’s commission, which was equivalent to one month’s rent. My other living costs are not the standard, as I am in a shared apartment and my utility costs are split between my roommates.

Studying in Nicosia during Lockdown

My first week was largely underwhelming, much to my disappointment. Due to quarantine, I did not get to explore the town until much later. It was like a ghost town, for other than in the market and occasionally, a few restaurants, the city appeared isolated. There was a curfew, too, so there was no nightlife either. At the onset of my arrival, I reported to school, thereafter preoccupying my time with leisure activities in my new home. This was before the semester had started, thus I was pretty idle, considering the factors that limited outside interaction. When classes did start, they were online! Thus, I did not get to experience an orientation week or have much that I needed to adapt to, in all honesty, for I was behind a screen! 

During the first and second years, my classes had approximately 50 people each, which was surprisingly bigger than the standard number of students for NEU. We were learning the foundational classes at that time, so my class had majors of Economics, Business Administration, Accounting, Corporate Finance, and Project Management. When we moved on to my third year, though, we branched off into various different electives, so I no longer had classes with the same set of students. 

Fortunately, when the second year began, the COVID quarantine restrictions lifted, and I was granted more opportunities to be outside, see the sun, and enjoy the fresh air. I spent my newfound freedom watching and playing sports on outdoor courts, and going to the cinema. During my first two years, I had little interest in exploring the country, largely because when I first came, everyone was indoors. Secondly, excluding the university shuttles, I was not well versed in using the city shuttles. In fact, when I first arrived in Cyprus, I took the wrong bus, one that was headed in the opposite direction from NEU! I was graciously assisted by a couple of passengers and made it to school at last.  Consequently, I would encourage everyone not to worry too much about moving to a new country. The unfamiliarity is granted to produce a few slip-ups here and there, but by being resourceful and reaching out to people, you will be sure to find your footing soon.

Work-life balance

Whilst I worked all throughout my study period, the lens of my first two years was focused more on a school-life balance. The academic level was initially pretty simple for me, so it did not give me much trouble. However, as the classes became more complex, I began to struggle, particularly in Mathematics. I definitely preferred the sciences to math, thus finding them easier to grapple with, but my main setback was the fact that we had components of Further Maths in my classes, which was not a class that I had taken in high school. It was a very challenging hurdle, but I was painstakingly able to overcome it! I relied on the help of the students who understood the concepts fast, and that's how I improved and got by. Plenty of group projects and assignments were assigned frequently by our professors; the workload was not terrible at all.

The life component of the balance was rather underdeveloped, as I only began to go out and uncover new places towards the end of my second year with the bus routes. Cyprus has an amazing public transportation system; the bus schedules are very reliable and can get you pretty much everywhere you would like to go! It was in this way that I decided on where to go, as I familiarised myself with the area. I got my first formal job experience in the summer of 2023! It was in Gazimağusa, which is a whole other city ! (NEU is in Lefkoşa.) It was quite a memorable experience, as it was during a break from school, allowing me to explore Cyprus beyond Lefkoşa. Towards the end of my studies, I took on a number of freelancing businesses, but these were relatively easy to manage.

Socializing (In spite of Social distancing)

Despite the earlier social distancing restrictions, I did not encounter any major setbacks or hurdles when it came to making new connections and making new friends. I am a naturally sociable person, but it also helped that my elder brother was pretty well known. That being said, I strongly believe that as long as you are friendly and open to new ideas and experiences, you will not struggle to make any friends at all.

I took a gap year, in between my third and fourth year, so that I could prioritize my mental health and take the much-needed break to recharge and reset. During this time, I met a lot of people and formed crucial connections, many of which I can link to the various PR job opportunities that have opened up for me!

Finances: Maximise your resources!

I was not dependent on my mother to financially support me; it was a priority to me to be able to find sustainable work that I could excel in. When taking into consideration the resources you need to make money for yourself, never underestimate the importance of your soft skills! My confidence in marketing and social skills had been refined through the work that I had done alongside my mom after high school. She was a landlord and sold houses for rent, naturally collecting commission. With this experience, I joined a number of WhatsApp groups through my friends and went into the exact same business. Besides that, I also worked in PR, the promotion of events, concerts, and parties. In all this, I took advantage of my short form name (Ada), as it is a Turkish name, thus perhaps granting me more luck in my job hunting endeavours than most other foreigners.

There are numerous advantages to using an agent! My agent drastically simplified the process for me, especially when it came to applying for my Visa. Due to the fact that I was under 18, my visa interview was rather rigorous, one that I was only able to navigate under the guidance of my agent. Therefore, If it is an option available to you, please use an agent, or at the very least, a mentor or counsellor.

- Application Advice to future applicants

Post-graduation

I graduated in June and took on my side businesses full-time. I freelance, dabble in PR, and have, of late, collaborated with a number of brands and artists who are coming to Cyprus! I definitely enjoy what I do, and for the foreseeable future, I see myself continuing in this line of work, right here in Northern Cyprus.