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I am 100% certain that my undergrad institution has helped me with all my post-undergrad applications. However, I think it is probably only the top 10 or so (not the top 50 -- at least not past 20) that would do so. Whether it should be that way or not, I don't know, but it has seemed to help me.

Well what I did was mention to my referees that although my date is far off, I plan to submit my application by one this specific date. So well they uploaded my LORs in that manner.

Why don't you mention the same? Tell them that even though the application submission dates were far off, you wanted yourself to submit them ASAP hence asked them for the LORs early. I am sure they won't go crazy on you but on the other hand, it reflects on your sincerity.

Good luck!

I respectfully disagree with those positing that your depression is likely to reoccur during your Ph.D.   It sounds like, from what you wrote, that the depression was triggered by the family death and is not a recurring thing that frequently decimates your ability to do well in a classroom setting. 
 
Since your masters was thesis-based and you did well in that respect and your adviser will vouch for you, no, I don't think it's the end of the world. I think you should take the subject GRE and do as well as you can (a 100% is not necessary and you don't have to report it at all if you feel your score isn't good enough, as long as the school doesn't require it).  I also think if you can get your letter-writer to explain that your grades suffered due to a death in the family, that will help.
 
The question remaining for me is: how bad WAS your undergraduate record?  Research is more important than grades of course, but you need a minimum GPA to be considered usually.  Your grad GPA is over 3.0, but what about undergrad? 
 
I think you should acknowledge your strengths some as well, and work to build upon them.  You're weak in one area (grades), so improve an area in which you are strong (research).  If you can show that your depression did not negatively affect your work in research, then that helps.

I'm on the admissions committee at a state university. I personally don't care that much about grades. Some people aren't good with classes and taking tests but are good with research. If you have made good progress in your research, have the support of your advisor, explain your C's due to family situation, you should be competitive for PhD programs.

I don't think ranking in letters is that uncommon, and I believe some forms specifically ask recommenders to do this. Ideally, your recommenders would rank you in the top 10% or higher. You should ask if people can write you "strong" letters and then you need to trust them. Most professors want their students to do well and will offer advice on grad school applications/programs if asked. I unexpectedly found that asking people to write letters for me was the one bright spot of what was otherwise a pretty stressful experience. My recommenders were enthusiastic and interested in how the process was going for me. They were pleased when I got interview invites and supportive when I got rejections and happy for me when I finally got accepted. I ended up becoming closer to the people I asked for letters from as a result, even the one woman who intimidated me and who I did not think would be likely to write me a strong letter. I was wrong -- she even offered to proofread my SOP! So don't worry  overmuch -- if they agree to write for you, they  most likely will try to write something that helps you.

Just this week I was talking with a grad student from another program that I'd had a class with. He told me that class had been his toughest -- it was my easiest. We both were unfamiliar with about 1/2 the material starting out (different halves). The course combined both of our "usual" fields. So, you never know that a class is too easy for everyone. I do think it is a BAD idea in ALL circumstances for an instructor to make the comments you report. Even (especially?) in an introductory class. Learning can be very difficult, and when it is, it is not helpful in the least for someone to say "oh, this is easy" or "this should be easy." I can actually think of few better ways to turn someone off a subject forever. I am thankful for the gifted professors I've had who were enthusiastic about their subjects and shared my joy when I understood something new (in spite of its typically being something they could probably do without thinking at all).

Tell the professor. You may not realize this but bad teaching evaluations can seriously damage a person's career. They stay with you and can affect hiring and tenure decisions. One bad course early in her career won't be the end of all, but why don't you give her a chance to fix this before you do anything else. How does it help anyone to wait silently until the end of the semester and then write a bad evaluation? Also, while we're at it, I had a serious knee-jerk reaction to the description of your professor as "sweet." I can't imagine you calling a male professor that (but maybe I'm wrong). Treat this person as a professional who may be inexperienced, and help her help you. If she can't switch things around, then you're licensed to write a mean evaluation or go talk to the department chair, but don't go over her head before you talk to her. If you're worried about saving face, there may be indirect ways of letting her know how you feel - e.g. through a student rep or through another professor (your advisor). Even an email from an anonymous email address might help. 

DON'T send out the same SOP. If they remember your old one, this will look lazy. Do you want to send the message that you haven't improved yourself at all in the year since your last application? Or that you don't care enough about the program to update your application?

That's a bit harsh. One year longer than expected really isn't that long...especially with the less than ideal advising the poster seems to have received. It does not mean that she would not do well in a PhD program. There is a lot about this situation that we don't know. I would rather err on the side of being too supportive, rather than being so discouraging. There are professors who are jerks (sadly) and it seems likely that the poster had the bad luck to be stuck with one. Her current difficulties may more validly be attributed to him than to any serious deficiency of hers.

That's a bit harsh. One year longer than expected really isn't that long...especially with the less than ideal advising the poster seems to have received. It does not mean that she would not do well in a PhD program. There is a lot about this situation that we don't know. I would rather err on the side of being too supportive, rather than being so discouraging. There are professors who are jerks (sadly) and it seems likely that the poster had the bad luck to be stuck with one. Her current difficulties may more validly be attributed to him than to any serious deficiency of hers.

I agree with your statement- however, I'm just saying that there are certain things you need to get to your dreams (aka admission to a PhD program). LORs is one of those. Take 1-2 years off, make new connections, volunteer with other researchers/profs, get publications, work with the old committee to give you advice and show you have grown and improved- telling them to just apply now with bad/no LORs just doesn't make sense.

Do NOT under any circumstance email potential advisers and "explain the situation to them". This is the worst advice I've ever heard. You're supposed to explain that you bombed your master's thesis and nobody you interacted with over 3 years will write you a LOR, and they are supposed to be impressed and go out on a branch to try to get you into their program? .... No. Just no.
 
Secondly, LORs DO matter. They matter a lot. Bad/neutral LORs are certainly submitted. It is incredibly easy to tell when a professor is just doing their duty and when the professor genuinely believes in a student. The former is NOT a good reflection on an applicant, and is basically the equivalent of writing a bad LOR. No professor wants to write a glowing LOR of someone who will enter a program and not be able to handle it- it reflects badly on them.
 
For the record, I successfully went through an application cycle for my master's, then again for my PhD. As a grad student, I also coordinated the master's application process at my last program. I've also been involved in multiple labs and saw the application process from within them. Career-wise, I also applied (and received) jobs offers before my graduate career, and I was involved in hiring my replacement at my last research job. I've seen a lot of job/graduate school applications, interviewed a lot of people, and I've had a lot of conversations about students/faculty/bosses about the process.  While fields may have different application processes, there are some things you should never do- whether it's applying for grad school or a job. I strongly suggest you do not take the above advice.

If you made a good impression on your professors, they should be happy to write letters of recommendation for you. If they seem less than enthusiastic, I would question whether you want letters from them at all. Your recommendation letters may be the most important part of your application. You need to have people who are really on your side writing for you. Ideally, these would also be people known to members of the admissions committees at the schools you are applying to. Have you discussed your grad school plans with these professors and actually asked them if they'd be willing to write you STRONG letters. They may be trying to send you a message that they think you'd be better off asking someone else.
 
It is possible that they are flakes, but most professors I have met do take this part of their job pretty seriously. Being "busy" shouldn't keep them from writing letters. All professors I know are busy.

I only applied within commuting distance, but I'm not sure my husband is ready. He kind of had to go through this before -- a decade ago -- when I was in med school/residency. I quit that time, since it was not possible to give the kids the attention they needed, so I'm really not prepared to give up my goals again. He'll have to adapt.

If you made a good impression on your professors, they should be happy to write letters of recommendation for you. If they seem less than enthusiastic, I would question whether you want letters from them at all. Your recommendation letters may be the most important part of your application. You need to have people who are really on your side writing for you. Ideally, these would also be people known to members of the admissions committees at the schools you are applying to. Have you discussed your grad school plans with these professors and actually asked them if they'd be willing to write you STRONG letters. They may be trying to send you a message that they think you'd be better off asking someone else.
 
It is possible that they are flakes, but most professors I have met do take this part of their job pretty seriously. Being "busy" shouldn't keep them from writing letters. All professors I know are busy.

I only applied within commuting distance, but I'm not sure my husband is ready. He kind of had to go through this before -- a decade ago -- when I was in med school/residency. I quit that time, since it was not possible to give the kids the attention they needed, so I'm really not prepared to give up my goals again. He'll have to adapt.

I only applied within commuting distance, but I'm not sure my husband is ready. He kind of had to go through this before -- a decade ago -- when I was in med school/residency. I quit that time, since it was not possible to give the kids the attention they needed, so I'm really not prepared to give up my goals again. He'll have to adapt.

If you made a good impression on your professors, they should be happy to write letters of recommendation for you. If they seem less than enthusiastic, I would question whether you want letters from them at all. Your recommendation letters may be the most important part of your application. You need to have people who are really on your side writing for you. Ideally, these would also be people known to members of the admissions committees at the schools you are applying to. Have you discussed your grad school plans with these professors and actually asked them if they'd be willing to write you STRONG letters. They may be trying to send you a message that they think you'd be better off asking someone else.
 
It is possible that they are flakes, but most professors I have met do take this part of their job pretty seriously. Being "busy" shouldn't keep them from writing letters. All professors I know are busy.

I started my program at age 43. I don't intend to go into academia, and, in fact, I don't have any plans yet for what I want to do when I'm done with school. Right now I am trying to enjoy the experience (as much as possible), learn as much as I can, and actually be useful in my research group so I don't feel as though my advisor is wasting his money.  It's always tough being the newest, most inexperienced person around, even when you are "old." I just started with this group, so I guess it will take some time to get going, and, overall, I'm really glad to be doing things that are challenging and intriguing again.

I started my program at age 43. I don't intend to go into academia, and, in fact, I don't have any plans yet for what I want to do when I'm done with school. Right now I am trying to enjoy the experience (as much as possible), learn as much as I can, and actually be useful in my research group so I don't feel as though my advisor is wasting his money.  It's always tough being the newest, most inexperienced person around, even when you are "old." I just started with this group, so I guess it will take some time to get going, and, overall, I'm really glad to be doing things that are challenging and intriguing again.

the earlier the better.

You seriously waited this long to reply to your other 6 offers?  Might not want to tout the fact that you hogged 6 offers for weeks or months at the cost of others on the waitlist or hoping to hear from one of those programs before making a decision to attend elsewhere.
 
Take another read over your post and see how conceited it sounds.

Agreeing with poster above, go with the funding.  I had a similar dilemma two years ago when I was choosing my MA program- one was close to home but zero funding, the other in an extreme northern climate, but full funding. I took the second option and never regretted it.  If it were a PhD I'd take distance/weather into further consideration, but you should never dismiss funding packages.

It's a masters, so I'm assuming it's only ~2 years?  I'd say for that short of a time, weather and location should not be significant variables.  I would choose the program that will be the best for you professionally.  Weather and location should really only come into play when we're talking 5-6 years for a PhD and all else between programs is relatively equal.  However, this is only an opinion. 

Every field is different, but in Clinical Psych, the smallest number of people interviewing with my prof was 4, and the largest was probably 7+. However, I'm 99% sure that their preference order is decided before the interview, and the interview is more of a screening process to see if they need to take anybody off that list. I had great interviews that didn't turn out well, and so-so interviews (that didn't seem to go well AND where they probably learned very little about me) at better schools that got me an offer. I talked to other applicants as well as current students about that and in general, they tend to agree with me. So, if you don't get in after an interview, don't be upset because "the fate was in your hands"- just realize that sometimes, decisions are already made, or sometimes, they are looking for something very specific. That being said, if you got an interview, you're already awesome, and it does mean you have a pretty good chance of getting an offer :-D. Good luck!