ProfONE

This is wrong, in my opinion.  Doing a Masters in the program you hope to do a PhD in will help you and here's why:
1. Working in a masters program at the school you're hoping to get into for a PhD program will allow you to show the graduate advisors that you can succeed in graduate school and you can prove your ability to do good research and work well with existing faculty.
2. Most importantly, you can network within the university.  It is easier to reject a person who is only numbers than a person who you know.  Get to know professors, work within the department, make your name a common one, and network with people who are actually on the grad admissions committee.  This is an advantage that other applicants simply won't have.
3. Your talking with these GAC members will allow you to get a better understanding of what is considered competitive in that program and allow you time to improve your application so that they truly want to admit you. 
Either way, if this is the university you really want to get a PhD at and you like the program, then this is a very appropriate way forward instead of taking a year off and studying to get your numbers higher.

It depends. Some places have more formal funding agreements than others. At my PhD program, the first year you are expected to have two supervisors to work on two separate topics. The department funds the first year though, so the money comes from the general pool, not any particular supervisor's grant. After that, you can work out how you would be funded. Often, if you are working for two profs, you are funded by both, usually 50/50, but sometimes it might be 80% from one and 20% from another. But sometimes, you're 100% funded by one person and they don't mind you also working on another project.
You said "double funding" in the title and I'm not sure what you meant. If you meant funds from two sources, then like I said above, probably yes. If you meant getting twice as much funding, then almost certainly no. You'll still get the same amount of funding, but the costs may be shared between the two advisors.
If you have two supervisors for one research project, then it is not too complicated as long as the two profs work well together and it's clear what to do in case of a conflict. Often, there's one primary supervisor and one co/supplementary supervisor brought on for their expertise in one area, but the project "belongs" to the primary (and you).
If you have two separate projects each with their own supervisor (i.e. your thesis will be the combination of these two related projects), then it's really important to have a talk early on to discuss expectations from each project/professor and how you will spend your time. Different profs might have different expectations of what "50% of your time" means. And, it might not make sense to work on both projects exactly in parallel: you might want to spend 6 months with 90% effort on one and 10% on the other and then switch 6 months later. Often, because it's easier to keep the funding source constant while your effort/time changes, you may still get money with a 50/50 split even though you aren't working on projects 50/50 at any given time, and without a clear plan ahead of time on how you would spend your efforts, one or more profs might feel they aren't getting enough of your time. This can cause tons more stress and damage relationships, so be sure to talk about these things at the start of your program/project.

Snow.
 
F*ckin' snow.
 
Can't they do anything about all the damned snow?!
 
Signed, 
Everybody on the Eastern Seaboard.

Leaving for my PhD has become the most bittersweet moment in my life. On one hand everyone is happy I got in and excited for me to start this journey (including myself), saying congratulations and asking all kinds of questions about how it'll be and helping me find a place to live. On the other hand everyone is also sad, especially my family, close friends, and girlfriend. Sometimes crying about missing me, and how they won't see me for 4-5 years (outside of my occasional visits). A discussion about my PhD can basically go from happy to sad in a blink of an eye, one second we're all talking excitedly on a place I found or classes I'd be taking, next second they're crying that I'll be leaving. I always thought it would become this great exciting thing (and it is), but I never considered the sad portion of me leaving everyone behind and how difficult it would be. It just really sucks at time. 

Hard to know as these things can vary greatly, but it sounds to me like you'll only get admitted if the program can fund you. Frankly, you shouldn't do a PhD without funding anyway, so that sounds entirely reasonable to me. The fact that an offer may come after April 15 suggests that they are waiting to see if the first batch of candidates who have offers will accept or decline. If enough of them decline, some funding will free up that could go to waitlisted candidates. Whether or not you're officially waitlisted, it sounds like that's what your situation is. Good luck! 

Volunteer at an animal shelter!

OMG ALSO MADE IT OFF THE WAITLIST WTF IS HAPPENING

YOU GUYS. I GOT IN!!! 
I was sitting on 5 rejections and 1 waitlist (for my top choice school) with very little communication about what was happening with the adcomm. I got a phone call from my POI today and they said I was their first choice (they did not extend an offer to anyone else) and that the reason for the delay/waitlist was that they had a lot to figure out internally. I'm still waiting on the official letter with the funding offer, but I'm so excited, and relieved, and a little bit in shock. This late in the game, I had more than prepared myself for applying again next year. Holy wow.
This thread was a life-saver for me throughout the wait process; I appreciate it so much.

I got accepted into the program that originally waitlisted me. This is the end of this waiting cycle and I'm so happy that it ends with an actual offer. Cannot believe it.
Good luck to those still waiting !

I just got in off the waitlist at my top choice!!! I'm in such shock right now honestly. 
Today has been such a rollercoaster - it started with waking up to an email reply from the program director of my top choice saying she didn’t know whether or not I’d hear back from them before April 15 and that I should ask my other school for an extension. Then I drafted an email to my second choice asking for an extension but before I sent it I got a phone call from their program director offering a fellowship with more money (and then I asked him about an extension and he said they probably wouldn't grant one). Then tonight I got an email from my top choice and I honestly can't believe it. I still have to hear back from professors at my top choice (I want to make sure they actually want me in their labs still) before i can say for sure that I'm going but today was a lot. I'm defending my undergraduate thesis in the morning and have yet to look at my presentation because this has all been so much wow. 

Hello Everyone,
Good Evening.
Please i need your advice about these schools below to make decision.
I got admitted into all the 4 schools i applied to for MS Bioinformatics as detailed below:
Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond - Admitted MS Bioinformatics (No word on Funding Yet)
University of Memphis - Admitted MS Bioinformatics, Concurrently Admitted PhD Biology (No Funding, but my prospective supervisor promised i will get funding when i enroll and spend a semester)
Loyola University Chicago - Admitted MS Bioinformatics (Awarded Fellowship: Full Tuition Scholarship, Full Health Insurance Coverage, and Stipend; subject to renewal on satisfactory performance)
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis - Admitted MS Bioinformatics (Awarded Scholarship but not Full Tuition Scholarship, Travel expenses for attending conferences covered also)
I am an international student. I feel very strong and enthusiastic about accepting the Loyola offer because of the strong connection i have developed with my PI and research fit.
However, i will love to hear your suggestions and opinions about the schools above, the cities and the program robustness. Asides from Funding, What other factors should i consider before making my decision. Particularly, i will love to know advantages any of the above cities could confer.
Thank you!

Umm... I'm risk-averse financially so I would follow the funding. I know nothing about your field but I do know that Loyola Chicago is a good school so it seems like a good option. What are your career goals after the master's? How will each of these programs prepare you for those? Where are there recent graduates now?
(P.S. For info on the cities, check the "City Guide" on this forum.)

This is definitely field-specific and also depends on where you're seeking employment. A number of TT jobs I applied for this year asked for a teaching portfolio, evidence of teaching excellence or effectiveness, or copies of teaching evaluations along with my application, before or after a phone interview, and prior to a campus interview. While it may not help a great deal, it can definitely hurt an applicant, especially if the evals you get aren't very good and there are other applicants with better evals you're being compared to.
 
As for actual advice, I'll start with the following:
- Figure out what resources are available to you as a TA or instructor in your department, in your college, and through the university's teaching center. And then take advantage of them. My PhD university's teaching center flat-out told me that I was one of three grad students from my department (90 grad students) they had ever met with or assisted. Now part of this was due to my department's culture where consulting the teaching center was seen as an admission of failure but that's BS and you should ignore that if people are saying it.
- When in doubt, consult the internet. By which I mean, if you have to create a syllabus, google around to see syllabi others have created for that course or a similar course. If you're looking for appropriate wording for a policy, again you can consult the internet (though you may want to consult your peers and department first because some stuff is university-specific and/or university mandated). Looking for an assignment idea? Google it. Sample rubric? Google for one. There's really no reason to reinvent the wheel.
- Accept that it will take you a while to gain your footing in the classroom. Be willing to change midway through the term and to do different things for different sections because not all students are the same.
- Take advantage of any courses/workshops/tutorials that will help you become a better teacher. Again, the teaching center will probably offer workshops or brownbags. These are awesome as a grad student because most of the attendees will be TT faculty so you can see what they're struggling with or what they're doing that works and use it in your teaching. Doing that early on will make you more effective in the long run, leading to better evals.
- Devise and administer a midterm evaluation of your students that's for you. Take their feedback seriously and incorporate it into the course. It almost always leads to improved semester evals, even if you don't change very much.
- Have someone else (an experienced teacher) observe your teaching. It will be painful and awkward and difficult. But, it will help you improve. It will also give you more material for your future teaching portfolio.
- Take the time to identify excellent teachers on campus (whether or not they're in your field) and observe them. You may need to ask them first, of course. If you're having trouble finding someone, ask the teaching center. Watching other people who are awesome, especially those who do it in totally different ways (like observing a lecture for 400 students vs a seminar for 30 students), will help you understand the variety of what works and identify some techniques that will work for you.
- Oh, and take the time to learn your students' names whenever possible. They appreciate it.
 
Okay, that was a lot of advice and probably more than you can do all in one semester. But, I hope it helps someone!

I believe he just informed you the unofficial result of your application albeit tacitly and hopes to work with you. So, I believe you will be admitted into the program. Best Wishes!

Programs will only accept you if they believe you can succeed. They will not accept you if they do not 100 percent believe that you would succeed in their program.

(1) You can't help / control that. Your own needs are more important than what the department thinks of you on this regard. If the school/department offers deferrals, it would be wrong of them to think poorly of students that take what is offered.
(2) All three of your reasons sound compelling to me and they are valid reasons for a deferral, in my opinion (not that my opinion matters to your department though!)

I don't think emailing them will help too much; at best, you're likely to get a "too many applicant, very busy"-type response if you get any at all. (And not to scare off anyone from emailing, but I've seen at least one instance on the results page where they were sent a reject the very next day after inquiring about application status, although it probably was not the cause but only the catalyst for notification.)
I do not know if you're applying for MS/PhD and for what field, but from what I've observed/heard it's probably like this: the schools have sent out some admits. and kept some on hold and outright rejected some applicants. (I've had all three happen to me.)

If enough people from the offered list accept, so that their intended strength is reached, you'll get a reject. However, people do have some time, usually up to April 15, to respond. So unless enough people offered admission in the first round decline to accept the offer, there'll be no fresh offers before that point of time. Some, like SUNY UB, have set that first deadline to March 15, so they'll  send out more admits shortly, I think.
And if your school does rolling admits,  I've no idea how that works. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯   I've heard of one or two accepts (and rejects!) being sent out in May.
Finally, I'll reiterate that these are all drawn from anecdotal accounts and extrapolated, and therefore may only apply partially to your particular case. Good Luck!

I have been accepted and told I unofficially have a TA position lined up from my POI at Rutgers in the PhD program for Applied Physiology and Kinesiology. I have not heard anything else for funding or how much to expect per month.
 
Is there a ballpark number I can at least expect per month? I'm trying to get an idea of what I can work with but I can't find any information on that program specifically (it's new --> 2014 start)

Teaching positions are often filled through the basis of need. GA-ships are usually TA or RA. Those who get GTA-ships are TA's for introductory classes. It's also dependent on skill level. If you're further in the program, you usually get to teach your own class (which is the case for most doctoral students finishing up). Or if you're in the middle (i.e. second/third-year) you might be the lab instructor/assistant for classes that have a lab component to them. Of course, this is from a social science (sociology) perspective; and it will vary as well based on the academic field you're in.

Do not take up space in a decent country with your brainwashed canadian background. Stay put in canada.

Hello
Thought I would start this thread to see if I could bring together any older applicants. I see a lot of people applying while still in undergrad, or a few years out. I'm 35 with a MSc. in History from University of Edinburgh. Applying exclusively to schools in Massachusetts/Rhode Island. How are the older applicants dealing with the wait? And how are you managing the transition to Grad school in addition to work, families, spouses, etc?

Based on personal experience (which I'm sure you'll find in other threads here), I offer advice similar to the above posters: Keep in tune with your emotional well-being.  You will be very motivated going directly into graduate school and you might feel compelled to jump into your studies full force, wanting to, perhaps, stay ahead, to understand the topics early on.  Be careful with this method.  As the above poster said: take baby steps, pace yourself.  Keep any budding obsession with classes and grades in check.  You want to do well in classes, but they are absolutely secondary in graduate school.  Meet colleagues, get to know them, find ways you can help them with their own studies.  You'll help yourself through helping them.  Also, they will find you to be a helpful person and will exchange their own time and assistance if they're decent people.

Eigen has good pointers. I want to add that things will be much harder in grad school, especially during your first year. Be prepared! Your wellbeing is the top priority. You can't work 24/7! That said, schedule in down times to unwind. Seek supports from your cohort and be friends with them, or find a hobby that you can do when you are not studying/doing research. This will make your transition a lot smoother and prevent burnouts.
 
It is especially important to stay optimistic. Being pessimistic will really erode your motivation slowly, to a point of causing you to drop out. This is most prevalent when you are in the middle of your PhD. I have bouts of existential crisis and doubts of my own ability from time to time, the advice I got is "never fear, push forward!". Take baby steps when it seems too much. 

What I've noticed that tends to give a bad impression in past first year students in our program. Some of these, hopefully most of these, should be really obvious. 
 
Don't focus too much on classes, and not enough on everything else. Courses should be a minor part of what defines you as a graduate student/researcher. When your life revolves around courses, and you spend hours not in the lab because you're "studying" for courses we all know don't need that much study time, it makes you seem like you don't really get what grad school is about. 
 
While it's obvious, act like an adult. Be professional in your interactions with people, own mistakes you've made and move on without too many excuses. Don't be the guy that can't get over the fact that he now knows people who are married/have kids/are in their 30s. 
 
That said, treat your work like a job. You're getting paid to take school seriously and do research. If you show up at 10, go to a class, hit the gym for 2 hours and leave at 3, you likely won't make good impressions. That said, you don't need to make school and your work the entirety of your life. 
 
Along with that, lean how to be at least a little bit social. You don't want to be the new department party animal (well, you might, but that's on you), but you also don't want to be that first year who never does anything social with the department, and leaves all the department functions early/doesn't come. 
 
Don't be too cocky. Sure, you'll hear some of the 4/th/5th/6th year students talk critically about a seminar speaker in their area, or a faculty member deconstruct a colleagues research. That doesn't mean you should always do the same. Don't be the first year who talks about how some of the faculty are deadweight/have bad research/aren't as smart as they are. 

I was having a really really hard time at home (two deaths, flooded house, pneumonia) and I guess it was showing in my normally cheery attitude. So my favorite professor asked me to come into his office and he said "I just wanted to check that everything is okay" and I just broke down. I was a little embarrassed, but he was very kind and very very encouraging. I think about him a lot. I wrote him a really nice letter when I graduated.