Got admitted to four foreign varsities but couldn’t afford to leave Nigeria — Cybersecurity graduate

Selaboy Ebenezer, a Nigerian-born Cameroonian and cybersecurity graduate, speaks with TEMITOPE ADETUNJI about applying to 14 universities across six countries, securing four admissions but being unable to take up any of them due to financial constraints

You are a Nigerian-born Cameroonian raised in Northern Nigeria. Tell us about your background and what shaped you growing up.

I’m mixed, but I was born and raised here. I’ve lived in Northern Nigeria all my life.

 At what point did studying abroad become an ambition for you?

That was in 2021, after COVID-19. I had just gained admission and started thinking about what I could achieve. I felt I had so much more potential, and at the time, I didn’t think Nigeria was the right place for me to realise it.

I initially started applying, although I wasn’t taking it too seriously. Then there was the eight-month ASUU strike around 2021 or 2022, and I decided it was time to focus and pursue the opportunity seriously.

So, I continued applying through 2023, and the admissions started coming in that year, with most of them arriving around the same period.

By 2024, however, I started feeling like it wasn’t going to work out. The cost was too high, and I didn’t have anyone to support me financially.

It became a dream that felt so far out of reach, so I decided to let it go. I thought perhaps it wasn’t the right time for me. I was also already well into my university education here, so I decided to focus on finishing my studies.

You applied to 14 universities across six countries. What informed your decision to explore so many options?

It was basically a case of not putting all my eggs in one basket. I was exploring different options because you never can tell. I could focus on one school and later find out that another one was more flexible.

So, I explored different countries, including places you typically wouldn’t hear people applying to, such as Mexico, Spain and Brazil. If I came across an option that looked promising, I would apply.

I was also applying for courses that weren’t necessarily mainstream. I wasn’t looking at engineering or medicine. I was interested in areas such as woodwork, photography and videography.

I was basically trying different options instead of limiting myself to one. In the end, four schools accepted me: the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Hanover College and Kalamazoo Community College.

What was the application process like for you?

I didn’t spend a dime applying to those schools and all of them offered an application fee waiver.

The major challenge I had was getting the I-20 form. It required me to provide a sponsor or guarantor who could prove they were financially capable of supporting me for one full academic year.

That was the obstacle I couldn’t overcome. I handled everything else myself.

I was already ready to book my visa appointment. I was familiar with the application process, submitting my transcripts and handling the other requirements, so I didn’t need to go through a third party.

But when it came to the I-20, I realised I didn’t have anyone who could meet that requirement, and that became a major setback.

How did you feel when you received your first admission offer?

When I got the first one, I felt like I had finally achieved what I had been working towards, so I was super excited.

For me, it was like, “I’ve got the admission. What’s next?” I basically thought I was going. I didn’t see the I-20 issue coming.

Then I got another admission, and I thought, “Oh, wow, this is actually coming through.” When I got the second one, it felt like I had options.

It was all so surreal. I believed that once a university accepted you, it meant you were going. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

When you realised you might lose the admission, did you seek help?

Not at all. I think it was after I made that post on TikTok that I realised there were agencies and other options available.

But from where I was, using a third party looked pretty shady to me.

So, I started thinking about whether I had extended family members who could help. I wasn’t necessarily asking them to pay for me. I just needed someone who could provide a bank statement showing that they could support me for a year, while my nuclear family and I figured out the rest.

Unfortunately, in Africa, it doesn’t always work that way.

Apart from that, I didn’t approach any third party or explore other options.

Did you have a financial plan before the admission came through?

Yes, I did. But since it was my first experience, I didn’t fully understand how everything worked. Like I said, I was quite bullish about it.

Around 2022 or 2023, one of the schools had tuition fees of about $50,000, and I needed a guarantor who could show an annual income around that amount.

I thought I could rely on some extended family members. When I saw the requirements, I thought I could make it work.

I tried, but unfortunately, some of them already had commitments, so they couldn’t take on that responsibility.

Which admission meant the most to you?

It was the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. It was the second-to-last university to give me admission, and it was the one I pursued the most because I had been communicating with the international admissions team by email, and the relationship became quite personal.

I also thought that if I applied as an athlete, I could get an athletic scholarship.

Their basketball coach eventually emailed me, and we communicated back and forth. He told me about the requirements, and I realised there were many things I hadn’t considered.

In Nigeria, we don’t really have a strong structure around sports outside football. At some point, he asked if I had a coach, teammates who could recommend me, videos of me playing and other things. It got quite serious.

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I even downloaded one of their school apps. They gave me a school email, so it had gone that far.

I was also placed in the community for the class I was expected to graduate with, where prospective students could connect while waiting to start school. I became acquainted with several of them, and I still keep in touch with one person from that class.

That admission meant a lot to me. I honestly thought that was the one.

When did you realise the admission alone was not enough?

It was when I was communicating with the university and saw how much I needed financially. I looked at my situation and realised I had to let it go.

At the time, I was already in my third year at the Federal University of Dutse, Jigawa State, where I was studying cybersecurity. I thought, “Let me just finish. I’ve already come this far. Let me go back to what I started and see it through.”

That was when I realised I couldn’t continue with the plan. I didn’t want to waste more time, so I decided to give up on the opportunity.

How difficult was it to let go of an opportunity you worked so hard to secure?

Honestly, during the first four months, I would say the pain was about six out of 10.

But after six or seven months, I had moved on. I have this thing where nothing is ever too deep for me to move on from.

The fact that I got admission in the first place was already a plus for me. It meant that if I ever wanted to try again, I knew I could get admission. I just had to move on with my life.

What did you eventually do with the admission?

I sent them an email saying I was done with the process, and they told me I could defer the admission.

But I decided to give it a break. I told myself that if I ever felt I could afford it, I would simply reapply. There was no pressure. So, I basically turned it down.

What prompted you to share your experience on TikTok?

The video came from a place of frustration. I think something about Nigeria frustrated me that day. I made it a couple of months ago, even though the experience itself happened a few years earlier.

When I make videos on TikTok, I don’t really plan them. I just start talking to my camera and post them. So, I posted the video.

Then I woke up around 2am and my phone was buzzing. I realised so many people could relate to what I had said.

A lot of people were texting me and asking questions. Some thought that because I had gone through the process myself, I would know how to help them.

I had mentioned that I didn’t use any agencies because I felt the process was easy enough to handle myself.

People started asking me questions, and I had to tell them that I wasn’t a professional. It is something you can basically do yourself. You don’t necessarily need an agent, except for the particular issue I had.

I’ve also seen negative comments asking why I didn’t seek help or counsel. But this was around 2022 or 2023. TikTok wasn’t as big then as it is now.

At the time, I also felt like I shouldn’t force it or keep looking for help if I couldn’t make it work.

What are you currently doing?

I’m self-employed. I do interior design, videography and video editing. I’m basically a jack of all trades. For now, I’m not seeing the results I hope to see, but I believe these are long-term pursuits.

Looking back, what has this experience taught you about the realities of studying abroad?

First, studying abroad is really expensive. It’s so expensive that there are student loans for a reason. Even citizens in those countries cannot always afford it.

So, if you’re trying to go to a first-world country, you have to have some level of financial stability.

You can’t just start the process without a plan. You either have the money or you know somebody who is genuinely willing to support you through the process.

If you want to apply, first ask yourself, “Can I afford it? Do I have the money to cover the costs?”

If you want to take the loan route, that’s another consideration. To take out a loan, you usually need some form of collateral.

Always consider where you’re from, how you were raised and your current circumstances. If the numbers don’t add up, don’t risk it.

There are scholarships that can cover a significant portion of your expenses if you’re an outstanding student. But scholarships are not necessarily the only solution. You also have to consider how much they cover.

For example, your tuition could be $50,000, while a scholarship might give you $2,000 a year. How many $2,000-a-year scholarships would you need to make up $50,000?

You see, it becomes stressful.

If you’re not financially buoyant to an extent, you will still have to finance a significant part of your education. So, you need to consider your financial capacity before starting the process.

Do you still plan to travel abroad?

I will travel out, but it won’t be for studies because I think I’ve closed that chapter for now. I’ve wrapped it up. Maybe somewhere down the line, when life is better than it is now, I will try again. The situation in the country discouraged me.