Eligibility criteria: 10 yrs ILR residency
Language criteria met:Life in the uk + MSc Degree
Nationality:Non- EU
Method of application: Post
Date of application: 01/08/2017
Payment method: credit card
Date of receipt by HO/UKVI: 02/08/2017
Date of acknowledgement: letter was dated 07/08/2017 received 10/08/2017 also email : 08/08/2017
Date money gone off account: 06/08/2017

Date of letter requesting biometrics:letter was dated 07/08/2017 received 10/08/2017
Biometrics done:10/08/2017
Date of approval: I owe this to Almighty God , Who is EVER Loving , EVER Faithful . 26th October 2017 Approved, received a card from the mail man because I wasn't home , went to the post office the next day 3rd Nov 2017 I received the letter confirming the application was successful ,letter was sent in the same envelop with all my documents returned minus the life in the UK test which they always retain.
My online tracker still says awaiting decision so for all those tracking their application online be aware that a decision could have been made but the tracker not updated.
Date of ceremony: letter says it will take about 3 weeks to receive invitation to a ceremony at which point I will contact the local council.

Date applied for passports: did not apply with naturalisation
Date passports received: travelling soon so not applying until next year.
Time from receipt of application to approval : 85 days , 2 months 24 days
For the moderators its almost impossible to edit a post , perhaps thats why so many people have not shared the status of their applications . I almost gave up but I reconsidered because this information may useful to those waiting.
Good luck everyone. Dare I say Merry Christmas! its around the corner now.