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Why don't you tell him the truth? That in a few years you will be applying to programs, but you thought it would be easier to have him write a letter for you now since the experience is fresh in his memory. Then ask if he wants to keep a copy saved on his HD until you give him the names of the programs to which you are applying, or if he would like to give you a copy now and have you handle it.

I think that the Master's degree will not make a difference in your application. Publications may help if you have them! Research experience will count for more.

From the book: What is Graduate School Like? "A study... that, on a standardized scale where 100 points equaled the amount of stress experienced by someone whose spouse had just died, doctoral students in their first year scored an average of 313 points." Only 6 percent of the students were considered to be "below crisis level," and the other 94 percent were all experiencing "crisis" levels of stress."

With the recent cuts to the UW system, even if you are not directly affected by lack of funding, lack of funding to everyone else = more people looking for on-campus (or general) opportunities = fewer opportunities for you. However, cost of living will be waaaay cheaper in Madison than in Southern California. UW will be seeing brain drain/people fleeing the system soon, but as yours is just a Master's (not a long PhD program) you probably don't have to worry too much about that.

That's true, but OP specifically asked about EdS so I felt it was appropriate to use that language.

For school psychology you can only practice as a school psychologist with an EdS (Educational Specialist) degree. To be certified and work in schools (or pretty much anywhere) you need an EdS degree. A Master's by itself is virtually worthless, it's something you gain in your 1st year of the 3 year EdS program. In terms of funding, it is very, very hard to come by for EdS. You might try programs which have no corresponding PhD program because then any possible assistantships could go to EdS instead. The only funded program I've heard of is Emporia State in Kansas. Make sure whatever school you choose is NASP accredited.

Yes, EdD is not funded as often. Sometimes your school/district will pay for it. A PhD is a research degree. If you just want to work in education, not academia or research an EdD will be fine for you.

Why don't you apply to some new schools? If you want to apply to the same ones, I would contact POIs there and explain about the last two years and ask for feedback. Tell them about your new/updated research and academic experience and politely ask them if they are interested in receiving your application or not. But I would definitely add some new ones to the mix. Also you may also want to re-take the GRE and raise your scores. Good luck!

Sometimes they do, but as others have said there is really no way to know without asking the specific university. These things can also vary from year to year.

You should respond by saying, "I have an idea for how to prevent it: not having your response deadline be a month earlier than everyone else's!"

Yes, that's fine! Ask her if you are going to need to buy the Best Practices books at any point. They are an investment, but if you have to buy them anyway you may as well start reading them now!

A simple explanation (as soon as possible) will suffice. "While I was looking forward to attending your university, I was accepted off the waitlist at another institution and have made the choice to attend there. Thank you".

You can do it tomorrow, but do it early if they haven't specified a time, just to be on the safe side. Good luck!

You should complete a thesis if you ever want to pursue a PhD! So this could be a dealbreaker. Ask the school if they will let you do one, and if not choose another school ASAP before April 15!

Haven't heard good things about them (you can look back in this thread for more info). But as always you should gather more information. I know they have a high turnover rate for profs.

You end up taking more courses because each will be completed in a shorter amount of time than a semester-based system. Not sure what's confusing about it. You complete courses in 10 weeks or so instead of ~15. You still learn the content, put the hours in and take exams, etc. So you end up taking more courses per year and get more credits. It is definitely more work, but nice in a way because you can possibly get a greater breadth of knowledge. And you should certainly never be bored!

Probably because DU is on the quarter system (not semester).

You need to contact them and ask. But as long as you have completed all your courses before the start date of your grad program (and can prove it) it shouldn't be an issue.

This topic has been covered at length in

A suit if you have one. Business/business casual.