NonparametricBananas

Yes it takes effort to find things to do and certainly, you should keep an open mind no matter where you go in the hopes of cultivating meaningful experiences and whatnot, but oh boy, Windsor is like .. a black hole of bleh. I am glad of the experiences I had there, but there are times when I wish I had not been sucked in by promises of money and research freedom. Then again, it was only a 2 year program so I got out of there pretty quickly (I frankly can't believe how quickly it went by). 

Anyone considering going to the University of Windsor should seriously reconsider their decision. This is, of course, my biased opinion, but I think it is important to present a fuller picture to contextualize the situation. In my experience, it is a highly disreputable institution (for many reasons details of which I shall refrain from going into).
It is a thoroughly bigoted environment, racist, homophobic, cliquey, and I would go so far as to say misogynist as well. Such rampant bigotry is visible amongst the students, the staff, the faculty, and the general citizenry. The University itself operates a "ponzi" scheme by recruiting international students to feed the much needed infrastructure developments on campus. None of its programs are well reputed, those that are are a far cry from sophisticated or analytical. An institution that has developed a means to survive through international student money without any adequate (let alone equal) investments in international student welfare (for instance, there are limited vegetarian options on campus, where such options exist "two spring rolls" form an entire meal, no facilities for food on campus past 11pm, little to no guidance from international affairs/recruitment staff, no scholarships/funding, no accommodation of gay/lesbian international students, and so on).  
The city itself reeks of desperation like a cinematic actress long past her prime hanging on to shards of long lost glory. Windsor's downtown is one of the worst I've seen in Canada, in fact, at first glance, it does not look like it is a part of Canada at all. As a country that prides itself on its multiculturalism (which in itself is debatable in our day and age but a point for another day) and diversity, Windsor refuses to accept that spirit of inclusion. There are far better options in Ontario, especially if you are spending good money on a graduate degree.

Send me a PM. Just finished my master's there. We have lots to talk about!

To add some anecdotal "data": In my program, we are on the quarter system (3 10-week quarters of courses, the 4th quarter is the summer). We have 11 required quarter-length courses in our PhD. I chose to get courses out of the way faster and took 3 courses/quarter and 2 courses in my fall quarter of 2nd year, so I was finished all coursework fairly early. Other students have spread their courses over the first 2 years (i.e. approximately 2 courses per quarter). Some courses might be "easy" (i.e. you already took the material in undergrad but not enough to get a waiver, or it's a course you're not interested in and you just want it done with minimal effort) and I tried to balance it by taking one of these types of course per quarter (there was one quarter where all 3 courses were demanding and that was tough). 

5? Ummm, no. This is not undergrad. 3 is usually the max number of courses one should take if you're at a school on the semester system. 

I really like oxalis plants. They open during the day and close at night! And they come in purple!

I genuinely want to know. My program grades harsher than most colleges, and it works quite well (for me, at least). An A is on track for a distinction, B is quite alright, and C is a sign you might want to put a bit more effort in. The average depends on the class. For instance, there was one class in which not a single student ever got an A on the problem sheets.
 
My question is: what is the point of a system where you give a vast majority of students an A and consider anything below that a subpar performance? IMO the point of grades is to get some feedback as to how well you are doing.
 
EDIT: It is worth pointing out that a minority ends up with a distinction, and transfer from masters to PhD is not unconditional. You have to apply for readmission and get a distinction in your masters. So, grades do matter here.

Multiple people-former TAs-told me that in grad school A is for Average and B is for Bad. In other, words it is difficult to get less than a B in grad school.

On the face of it, this makes sense: if every one is expected to maintain a B or higher, then the average will be more than a B.

Yeah! I don't have a car (I bike everywhere) so all the money spent towards a car is savings, or nice clohtes... or new pots and pans (oh god, I'm trying my best to resist). 

During my masters, I was shocked at how easy it was to live off 13k a year, and actually save money.  How much stuff my parents and people who make a ton of money have is somewhat gratuitous, though I imagine once my 7 year grad school stint is over  ill have that kinda stuff. 

Zoology! 

Here's what I'd do:
 
1. Sign lease for apartment (if you are not living on campus)
2. Bank
3. Set up utilities (electricity, gas, water, etc.)
4. Set up internet (it usually takes a few days or even a couple of weeks so set up the appointment first!)
5. Check in at school
6. Get phone set up
7. Get SSN if necessary
8. DMV (unless you are importing a car and need to get a US license right away, then do this right after the bank)

The average range of grades in the B- and up applies to grad courses that are not seminar courses too (i.e. with homework that are "right or wrong"). 
 
In my program, grad students TA grad courses and I usually grade so that you get most of the points for using the right method and explaining yourself. But our courses also usually have weighting like 50% homework and 50% final project (no exams). So the final project part is where we can be more lenient if necessary.
 
Also, this is true even with courses that are all homework and exams. I took a course that was like this and got several 60% to 70% on some homework (just wasn't worth the time). I still ended up with an A-. This particular course's grading policy was to layout the distribution of scores and natural breaks in the curve corresponds to A, B, etc.

Well, I can say that the grades for my grad level biochemistry class last fall was from low 80s and up. The exams are designed so that a typical graduate student should get over 80% of what is asked correct. We had 4 exams which was worth the majority of the points for the class, with homework assignments for maybe 10% of the total grade.
 
There will be differences between different universities for the details, but I believe this is not outside the realm of what is normal.

Based off of information I got from the grad secretary, I'm now enrolled in 3 courses for the fall semester -- endocrinology, biotech, and a stats course. My program doesn't have required core courses, so I may be able to ask for some reprieve in the form of alternative courses within the department if I can make the pitch that they will be more applicable and useful to me. 
 
I hope I survive!

I would email the director of your program to clear up the requirements. I will probably take 2 courses is the fall (the first semester of my PhD program). I think that 2 courses is probably normal for the first semester of PhD. The director of the program can give you more info on what is normal for your program. Maybe you can comprise on taking biotech and endocrinology in the fall and review undergrad biochem on your own. Then in the spring you can take biochem and will feel more prepared for it. I'm surprised that this info isn't in the handbook. You should definitely get info from the director on the specific course requirements.

I heard back from Prof B just now. He said I will be sponsored by him but we'll work with Prof A, so it appears that Prof B has become my primary advisor with Prof B serving as a collaborator + committee member. We'll know for sure when we get there in Aug/Sept. Either way, both A and B do great research, so it will be a great opportunity to grow as a scientist nonetheless. I just wish they were more clear with this from the beginning.

I think this is something you definitely want to follow up with Prof A first (and Prof B afterwards).
 
There could be (at least) two possible scenarios:
 
1. In most programs I've familiar with, there is only one official supervisor although a student might be co-supervised on multiple projects and work with multiple professors. But there can only be one person that is responsible for you (financially and academically) on paper. So, perhaps Prof A and Prof B agreed that Prof B will be the "main supervisor", i.e. the person that will fund you and the person that approves your coursework etc. But, when it comes to actual research work, you would be able to go to Prof A and Prof B equally for advice and guidance.
 
2. Or, perhaps Prof A is actually trying to take less of a supervisor role over you and Prof B will not only be your "main supervisor" on paper, but Prof B will also be your primary research supervisor. Perhaps Prof A is thinking that they might be more like a collaborator or your committee member. 
 
How co-supervision works really depends on how your department/program run things. I'm currently working with three professors but only one is my official supervisor. But my department is very relaxed about supervision--although beyond our first year, each of us is mostly funded by an individual professor, almost all the professors have enough funding that it is as though every student is on a fellowship and we're able to just do whatever work that interests us. The main limiting factor on who we can work with is time.
 
So, I think if you truly want to mainly work with Prof A, then you should talk to Prof A about how he views his role as your supervisor. But even though you originally wanted to work with Prof A, is that still true today? You've talked to Prof B a lot now, is that someone who want to work with? Is the project they proposed something you care about? 
 
Ultimately, what your letter says is a big deal. I am surprised that the letter came after your decision to accept the offer, instead of along with the offer. Unless you are okay with the possibility that you will actually end up being primarily supervised by Prof B, you should contact Prof A for clarification sooner rather than later. 

Zoology! 

Yay! Got final confirmation from my two cosupers that the official offer letter is coming in the next few weeks! Got into NCSU Zoology PhD

I had only a 3.25 undergrad GPA but I have a 4.0 MS GPA, great LORs, lots of research, solid GRE scores, etc. You can see how my application season is going in my signature. I applied to 10 schools. Of the 10, 8 do interviews. I was invited to 6 of the 8 interviews. Of the 2 that don't interview, I have been accepted to 1 so far.

Basically, if your undergrad GPA is only negative in your application then you should be fine as long as it meets the requirements of the overall grad school (which is usually 3.0). If you're a bit below that then it gets harder but is still possible. I think that my MS gpa and high gre scores show the programs that I can handle the course work. Im convinced that my LORs have been the major selling point of my application. I say this because I have formed strong connections with professors in my department and I recently received an email from a POI which actually mentioned that I come very highly recommended.

Apply for the schools that are the best research fit and if your application is solid other than the undergrad GPA then I'm sure you'll do fine.

I don't know how much this is true outside of my current institution but I'm in a funded MS chemistry program (thesis based) at a school that also grants PhDs. The director of our graduate program, and all the profs on our committee have all told me "no one gives a shit about your undergraduate degree once you get a graduate degree. Your thesis and research skills are all they'll care about now that you'll have a masters degree" (actual verbatim quote from the director of our department). But I had a 3.74 UG and a 4.0 MS with high GREs so I don't know if they meant that exclusively for my record or in general for someone who may not have as high an UG gpa.