ANDS!

Bonn in Germany? I have a friend who is attending and says it's fantastic. As for getting a Masters in the US, what schools are you looking at that have a four year masters? There are SEVERAL schools that have terminal masters programs if that is all you want.

Co-signed. I can think of one conservative teacher I came across at my lowly state school - and he'd have been less likely to use such language than his progressive counterparts. Maybe it's sports or some such; that is the only discipline I can imagine have a culture of masculinity hanging over it. If the OP is this protective of even naming the department, I can only imagine how his cohort perceives them giving their already admitted habit of being a lone wolf.

At this point since there is no context or a full quote of what was said, and there being little information about the OP and their cohort itself - I'm agreeing with the above: An innocuous statement that is more a reflection of rudeness/tone-deafness than anything else. Could it be more than that; possibly - but not really able to tell beyond "A member of my department called gays 'fruits'."

Inquire into Emergency Loan programs at your campus. Also it isn't clear what kind of aid you are referring to - Financial Aid (which comes from the Feds generally) or Program Aid (directly from the school). Financial aid is typically disbursed around the same date for most schools; about a week or so before classes start. Program Aid though my letter says you get your first check about a month after classes start. This is certainly a lesson - Be obsessive about these things. Research and dig all the information you can so you're not stuck with little surprises like this.

I love the subtle (not so subtle?) dig at the US here. And I agree with the previous poster - they most likely know. But again depending on where you are studying and what, this maybe shouldn't come as a surprise.

. . .Or, if possible scope out the place first yourself and seek out opinions from more than one individual who has lived there.

Why haven't you said the major - is it unique to your campus?

The school itself may have a low GPA requirement, but that wont stop the actual program from upping the ante. To the OP, "a closed mouth don't get fed. . ." All you can really do is try if you have the financial means to do so. The problem is, by wanting to get in 2013, you might be unfairly handicapping yourself when you can just wait a year and get in 2014. Unless you are super old and super anxious about one year, delaying your application season might be a better bet. But if you have the money I say go for it (because really that's why is the ultimate decider here, whether you can spend 80-100 bucks per application).

Without seeing the actual letter, I doubt anyone here can say whether your letter was "deceptive" or not. Is the tuition 2200 a semester or year? Is the 5000 for a semester or a year? As for your teaching duties, leading a discussion session is hardly out of order. You're not actually going to be teaching anything; you're most likely just going to be answering homework questions and administering tests. These people generally are not out to screw you. Will they require you to fill holes in their lower division schedules for far less than it would take to hire part time faculty - yes. That's to be expected anywhere.

I would check to see if the GRE is even required if you have obtained a Masters already. Typically though, GRE scores for Masters will be lower for PhD's.

Yikes.

For the chicks.

Your overall GPA isn't going to reset. Sure your "New School GPA" might look sterling, but they are still going to see lackluster performance at your first school. You're better of just going to the school you came from and taking pre-req courses for OR to show that your academic maturity has improved.

I took a graduate course with an advisor. I sailed through it. In fact I kind of think maybe I shouldn't have (but then in reviewing my work saw that I wasn't getting special treatment). Still I felt in infinite amount of less stress in that class than others simply because I knew I had an existing relationship with the professor. /shrug.

Columbia's cost of living is low. Maybe not low compared to where some people live, but it is definitely below the national average. However, I am not sure where that individual got their information. Their website says a typical stipend is 13K to 14K, which is probably enough to live. A onebedroom (using Walkscore.com) looks like it goes for around 400 to 600. I would expect a roommate situation to be much less. These programs aren't trying to shine you in regards to the financial aid. You can always (assuming you are an American) take a little out in Financial Aid from the feds (10,200 each semester) to supplement.

That is a pretty presumptive statement to make. "Sh*t happens. . ." isn't just a saying, and for some people attending school is done so on a very precarious tightrope of juggling financial responsibilities. My entire undergrad I was on the razors edge where any financial difficulty could've derailed my progress. Fingerwagging that they should have had a couple 10K or so socketed away so they could afford (I'm assuming) a masters (even worse for a PhD), on top of everything else, is a bit ridiculous.

How is it unfair? It's like taking an exam and scoring high, but having a low percentile, and then your buddy takes the same exam, on the same scale, but scores lower percentile wise. The exam is the same, it's simply who you are scored against that is different.

Wow. It is incredibly naive to have thought that a 10 week summer internship would have automatically yielded publishable results from start to finish (regardless of stated intents - that just for those reading grant applications); I could maybe see it if this were a small part of a larger project that could be completed and a "student paper" squeezed out of it. It is pretty basic that these summer REU type programs carry with it some sort of long term commitment (whether that be in terms of a poster, paper or other presentation). I worked on two summer programs and the "missing in action" malarky was the behavior of both project leads. They have other things to do, and this is as much about helping them as it is about helping you. There is some measure of independent thinking that is assumed of you on the part of these project leaders. If you have no desire to continue with the project you need to communicate that RIGHT NOW so that the PI isn't operating under the assumption you will be. Recognize also that you will effectively be burning a potential LOR because of this. At the end of this I suppose it is lesson learned on your part, and you've gotten an introduction to the logistics, demands and reality of real research.

That is essentially a non-offer. Those will always happen, but I do not consider that par for the course (many programs do not do this practice AT ALL). The vast majority of programs will fund you for your admittance.

I dunno - I'd be super nervous too at that age attending an overseas program.

You shouldn't have qualified your desire for the first authorship with "I need it for. . ." - essentially giving the man an out. You need it because it is rightfully yours. At this point though I suppose you've missed that window unless you REALLY want to push this point and there are no other opportunities to make up for this missed one.

There is no difficulty. I have not seen any schools that do not fund their PhD's; certainly not a Top 50 program in the United States. You may not get what you think you deserve in terms of money, but they all have a funding system of some sort.

The folks who do that on Amazon I gotta tip my hat to; it gets you to click on the product and even consider there's above the others. Of course I never do because no one likes a shuckster, but I see the appeal.

Cambridge is more expensive to live in than Seattle; but indeed both are more expensive than the US Average. I would say of those schools Emory, Yale and Michigan offer the best packages (Yale especially) respective of their cost-of-living. Note however, that Emory only garauntees funding for the first three years - after which you need to secure your own. Students have said this is never a problem. Why are you concerned about the money? It is unlikely - if you apply to a top school - that you will receive inadequate funding. My concern would be the GRE and the Math subject GRE (some of those schools you mention strongly recommend it).

Jesus I don't know how some of you were able to handle college life. This transition is similar to the one you should have experienced when you went from lower division to upper division coursework. The jump will be even steeper, but if you have adequately prepared yourself then all the tools will be there for success. These people do not want you to fail and will do everything they can so that it doesn't happen. As for whether you can bail out and grab a Masters on them - this should have been something covered during a "getting to know you. . ." session or is something you need to ask your advisor. No one here can answer that for you since no one knows the program you are in.