_kita

It's too soon. As long as they agreed to write this letter for you before you sent the request, don't freak out. Do they have all the information they need from you? When is the deadline for the app?
Remember that your writers are busy people. Part of the reason we request letters months in advance is so they can work it into their schedules, not so they can finish our letters weeks before the apps are due.
From my own experience, I have one writer who has finished and submitted all her letters because she's got her own personal deadline (going on sabbatical so needs to finish all her tasks by a certain date). I have another who will probably submit all of his in October or November. My third submits each letter on the day of the deadline. I know this because they all submitted letters for me last year (so I know what to expect). The point is that all letter writers are different and it's best not to assume the worst case scenario.
I tend to freak out as well. I think my plan will be to resend the unanswered requests Nov 1st and then send an email a week before the deadline asking if I should resend the request or if they need any other info from me (phrasing this in the nicest way possible, aka not asking why they haven't submitted yet).

That I'd say is definitely up the PI and not necessarily defined by the size of the school. You can have big schools with the PI hovering over your neck (you need to go through them for everything you do), and you can have small schools where the PI does their own thing and you do your own. Personally, I went to a smaller school, with the entire graduate program (for my department) consisting of around 15 people (to give you perspective). My PI threw me onto my project when I was an undergrad and basically told me to have fun. I was completely independent on my project (and the only person on it), to the point I wasted a whole year doing very little because I didn't even know wtf I was doing. At an interview I was getting at Caltech, I talked extensively with the lab students there, and all of them said their PI was always involved in their work (hovering, constantly telling them what to do, couldn't do anything without getting his approval first, etc.). So again, I'd say that is really up to your PI. 
Now that being said, there is definitely a resource problem. At bigger schools (speculating), they may have more resources available so you may have a more options to do what you want (experiment wise). Luckily my project early on had quite a bit of funding, so my PI was able to buy the instrumentation we didn't have, but I still had to go to her and tell her to buy it (and do to budgeting reasons this took quite a while). Despite this, I was constantly met with, oh we don't have this instrument, we don't have this machine, so I can't run this experiment, etc. So that is definitely a big difference. 

I wanted to thank you for this thread as it is always useful to hear a negative perspective to contrast your own desires (bath yourself with a bucket of reality), as well as hearing the excellents counter-points provided above. 
What I take from this discussion is that you cannot get an MPP and expect to get rich (even if Ivy League, etc.), so be very careful when taking on debt. Also, that there are opportunities but one should be very clear in the kind of jobs/direction you want to go (the more specific the better), and if not, you should take career counseling opportunities very seriously.
Cheers,

You need academic knowledge and professional training in any field you need to work in. If the program is nonsensical to your goals, that's a problem. Maybe set up a meeting with the school to discuss your concern and see what their options are.
I know a lot of students who went to the program of their dreams but had an lead or co-advisor at a different institution. You may want to look into that as well.  

Unfortunately, solid research experience isn't that unusual. In psychology programs you essentially have to have solid research and academics to land in even a masters program.
When the job market plummeted about the time of your UGrad, the grad school market became even more saturated. Psychology was one of the worst programs for that saturation because of it's increased popularity. Now schools have really tough choices regarding amazing candidates. 
You will be facing off against students with very similar portfolios and less of a 'gap' between their schooling. I suggest either taking a few non-matriculated classes, retakethe GREs, etc. Get back involved in academics. Then you'll move from an average looking student on paper to a 'whoa this guy's determination is amazing. Yes!'
But do NOT give up. You can and will get in. It may just take more work and resources than you initially planned.

I agree with @TakeruK, I would not add extra work to the adcom. Leave additional the documents for your academic writing samples and CV. If a diversity statement, they would have requested it. Without their prompting, the statement could easily come across in a way you don't want it to. I wouldn't even add a few sentence addendum, but that's just me. If it's that important, weave 1-2 sentences into the SOP for schools not requesting one.
 

You haven't come across this way, not at all. I have noticed, in other contexts, derision or disbelief that schools could choose younger people, with the underlying assumption that they must not have done anything useful in undergrad and therefore have no added value for the program. That can be the case, of course, but it isn't as common as these people were making it out to be.
I absolutely agree that professional degrees often look for older applicants with practical experience. This is one of the main reasons I did not get into a lot of schools I applied to - I did not understand there was a difference in norms and expectations going from psychology to business, for example (both PhD programs). So even within research, those that are more "professionally focused", are looking for a different type of applicant. And that's great!
I absolutely agree that no one should try to be something they're not, and that they should play to their strengths. I also agree that one is not inherently better or worse than another (as in, being younger is not always good), and I recognize that ageism is a barrier, especially in the minds of older people that may feel insecure about going back to school. I believe both types of applicants are important and bring different things to the table. However, for a research-based program (which is the limit of this conversation and of OP's focus), there may not be as many differences between younger applicants and older ones with the same research accomplishments. Yes, not many undergraduates have won a best article award, but they haven't all been doing undergrad-level research experience, aka data entry, as was implied. In competitive fields like psychology, if you only do data entry as your "research" experience, you're not going to get in on that criteria.

I would advise you to not submit things that aren't requested. I can't see how this would be helpful to you. I think the best case scenario is that the committee ignores the extra document and the worst case is that they think you have mistaken their requirements with another school that does require these statements.
However, maybe you are asking because there is some specific information in the diversity statement about your academic background that you think the admissions committee would be interested in knowing or would explain something else in your application package. If this is the case, then I think the "additional documents" page is a perfect place to succinctly provide the explanation or additional detail that you wanted to include. I advise against just plopping a diversity statement here because such statements are a response to a prompt and I think submitting an essay responding to an unasked prompt will appear out of place. However, if you need to explain some gaps in your CV or some other special scenario, a few sentences submitted as an extra document might be helpful.  For example, one thing a student might put into this extra space might include personal reasons on why they didn't pursue graduate studies right after undergraduate work that they think are relevant enough for the committee to know but not relevant enough to add to their SOP. 

@_kita and @Sigaba thanks so much for your input! The meeting I mentioned caught me totally off guard, which put me into a bit of a panic. (I'd expected a similar conversation to happen soonish, but it ended up coming up in a weird moment.) I feel much better now about just keeping my mouth shut until I at least know for sure whether I'll actually be going anywhere! (And being rewarded for my work at my current job in the meantime) 

Most of the time, you don't need to do more than 2 weeks notice. If you have a lot of responsibility, you may want to work with your boss on delegation and training others. Your approach needs to depend on a couple of things:
Will you jeopardize your job if you tell them early Would you be a part of the team hiring your replacement What type of emotional and operation problems will your decision to leave cause I was in a situation whether I was working full-time as lead staff/counselor to the program manager. I was her 'right-hand' person. I managed most of the individual and group sessions, and a managed a lot of the therapeutic policies/programming. Therefore, I knew my leaving would cause a major emotional and operational problem. So when I left, I based my method off of my expectation that I would need to help her deal with the shock of me leaving, delegate more tasks out, train my replacement, and help my clients process me leaving.
  I gave my program all summer to get used to me leaving. I told my boss, "heads up, I applied, but I don't know if I will get in." To soften the blow, I didn't tell her I would be leaving. I told her I wasn't sure if I would still work full-time, part-time, or need to leave." That gave her time to consider her other staff team as resources. After I was accepted, I informed her, but asked her not to share the news with the clients or other staff members. We started planning administrative needs, and then 2 months before I was leaving, I let everyone else know. I also helped her emotional prepare for it before needing to have the clients and other staff deal with it too.
Everyone else was told about 2 months before I left, and the company was give a 1 month's notice so they could put up the advertisement (and I could interview replacements with the boss). I was perhaps a little "overzealous," but it was a successful transition and I'm not losing any sleep over it.
 
 

I've written and published fairly extensively in a wide variety of avenues-- from white papers for policy organizations, to articles in prestigious magazines, to blog posts/web articles for different outlets, in addition to a peer-reviewed journal article I coauthored. All of these publications are useful signals for adcoms and potential employers, but they signal different things. In academia, the most important type of publication is peer-reviewed journal publication, but the other things make a difference too. I worked for a year for a well-known magazine with similar standards for publication as the New Yorker or The Atlantic. Most of the articles published therein were by academics (including very well known academics). That is a valuable signal.  

I separated these things into separate sections on my C.V.
So, 
Peer Reviewed Publications:
blank blank blank journal of blank.

Other Publications: 
I listed here a couple of selected articles, plus "other articles appearing in blank, blank, and blank."

Check out the clinical health on here forum too. As you will have a lot of insight there. But your real world experience will be a huge benefit to a counseling program. 

To elaborate, you're looking at a professional degree & career track. They prefer professional experience. In my MA Counseling program (CACREP accredited) everyone had at minimum 1-2 years professional experience. Most had 5+. They did not require the GRE because they were focused on application of principles over academic prowess. That sounds like the direction you're going, so professional experience is highly in your favor.

You're not. As a heads up, I'm also an "adult learner" who had average gre and gpa scores. I wasn't accepted to doctorals my first round either, but was determined to go back. So I started teaching classes, took on more professional responsibilities, and went back for a master that aligned with my experience - and what I thought my goals were. That led me to another field that I love. And I will probably be well into my 40's by the time I finish a professional doctoral degree.
It is possible. But it does take more time and energy when you're balancing "real world" responsibilities too. I learned to rely on my family & developing connections, ability to relate as a professional, and just sheer determination to push me through. 
And no, not all experience is equal. At the same time, I know so many people with first or second authorships, publications, etc. at the 20-21 year old threshold now that it is seen as good research, but not enough to overcome too many years without any.. Sadly. 

I had lot of typical undergrad "research experience". That was nothing like writing an award winning publication. I hope not all research experience is seen as equal because I will have wasted a lot of time, energy, and sacrifice!
I think you're right, I need to get back into a lab and, of course, retake the GRE. Thanks for the positive vibes and not calling me old!
 

Quite possibly, but not always. You are definitely cut from schools with a minimum GRE score. However, other programs are more holistic. I was admitted to a top ranked school with a v (160) but q (140). I illustrated the quantitative skills else where on my application such as tutoring stats and acing other research/quant classes. But that only worked on a masters level.
 
Honestly, I suggest studying and investing time into retaking the GREs. It would cost less money than sending either more applications or a second year!
 

While I think the majority of posters on these forums are applicants, there are lots of people that stay and continue to post while students and even after graduation. Some people post about field-specific things in the field-specific forum (like this one), or one of the general forums for grad students, e.g. one of the ones here: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/71-grad-school-life/

Quite possibly, but not always. You are definitely cut from schools with a minimum GRE score. However, other programs are more holistic. I was admitted to a top ranked school with a v (160) but q (140). I illustrated the quantitative skills else where on my application such as tutoring stats and acing other research/quant classes. But that only worked on a masters level.
 
Honestly, I suggest studying and investing time into retaking the GREs. It would cost less money than sending either more applications or a second year!
 

Adcoms expect that a 17-18 year old is exploring their interests, taking unrelated courses due to the schedule/an easier class to balance against heavier courses. They will assume that was what you were doing -  unless you make a big deal over it and try to explain it away.
 
Just focus about your strengths; you have plenty of them.

Generally speaking, programs are not asking you this to see if you are "too overeager" or to test your tenacity or readiness for a PhD program or anything. It means exactly what it looks like...sometimes programs get students who have a lot of potential but are not ready for graduate work yet, and would benefit from an MA first. The MA will help boost the student's competitiveness for a PhD program. It's usually not a guarantee of admission if you finish the MA. Nor is it a promise of funding: that will really depend on the individual department and your competitiveness with the other MA applicants. It's just offering you another way to potentially study in the department with the hope that if you perform well you'll be considered for the PhD program later.
Also, a program being considered a cash cow is not mutually exclusive with it being considered a stepping stone to the PhD. There are lots of universities and departments that have expensive MA programs with virtually no funding - that are generally regarded as a source of money for the department and school - that nevertheless also produce good quality students and many students continue on to PhD programs.

Yes and no.
 
Pros:
All but two of my professors have real world experience in my field. The best one has been a law professor.
All of my professors have been somewhat likeable.
Most of my classmates have been nice, not to mention unintentionally funny when speaking about the horrid practices they've faced when working.
I've gained something from all of my classes that I can use once in the field.
Knowing you'll graduate from a respective program let alone university.
The great college athletics and university vibe.
Cons:
There's cognitive dissonance at times, as if my professors live in a bubble. I can expand on this but not here. PM if you want to learn more.
In all but one class so far the professor has said something highly questionable on sensitive/controversial topics. One time it took me 30 seconds to come with information that successfully countered a statement my professor said (just brute facts I came up with); another time when I brought up counterpoints for a controversial topic the same professor basically went all "Well it's all still up in the air! Oh, look at the time! Class dismissed!"
Classroom discussions. If you rock the boat you'll be "that person."
A couple of professors just don't respond to emails.
Some of my classmates aren't welcoming -- at all. For example there are those that will avoid you because they perceive you as inferior in terms of work experience. This avoidance spreads to group discussions and peer assessments.
Emails from the president and chancellor emphasizing inclusiveness and the strength of diversity. I hope they're getting paid by the letter.
The debt.
 
 

Kita, thank you very much for this excellent and useful post! I was aware of the importance of accreditation, but wasn't aware of the relationship between the Clinical Psych masters and CACREP. I'll check out WA State's requirements and come back, probably with more questions. 
In the mean time, Oshawott, I think I'm gong to buy a Kaplan Psych subject test prep book and study my butt off before the test date on October 28! I think it should be doable. 
 
Thanks for your help!!

@KevinG I wanted to touch base with you on the clinical psychology piece and licensure because you mentioned acquiring a counseling license as an end goal. You really need to check out the requirements for the state you'll want to practice in. This is a useful guide: http://www.counselor-license.com/
I'm letting you know this because depending on your state, a clinical psychology masters is useless. There are 2 main accrediting bodies CACREP (more about CACREP) and MPCAC (more about MPCAC). CACREP is currently winning the battle because it holds higher standards overall. They require 60 credit hour master programs and believe that psychology and counseling are two different fields with different specialties. Therefore, they are not accrediting clinical psychology programs any more - only counseling based ones.  For more on that here: http://www.cacrep.org/for-students/student-faqs-2/
Several states require CACREP accredited programs over MPCAC ones. Additionally, a lot of other states require a 60 credits. So they mean a CACREP program even though it's not expressly identified. I know a lot of students who graduated a MPCAC program only to find out they had to pay for the additional 12 credits after graduate to get licensed! If you look at this and thing "oh good, my state is safe" I say go for it, but be warned that the ACA is really trying to push for concrete CACREP across the board. You also run the risk of more problems than it's worth if you move into a state with CACREP requirements (or decide to start telecounseling in other states).
The CACREP programs line up for a PhD Counseling or PsyD Counseling. 

@KevinG I wanted to touch base with you on the clinical psychology piece and licensure because you mentioned acquiring a counseling license as an end goal. You really need to check out the requirements for the state you'll want to practice in. This is a useful guide: http://www.counselor-license.com/
I'm letting you know this because depending on your state, a clinical psychology masters is useless. There are 2 main accrediting bodies CACREP (more about CACREP) and MPCAC (more about MPCAC). CACREP is currently winning the battle because it holds higher standards overall. They require 60 credit hour master programs and believe that psychology and counseling are two different fields with different specialties. Therefore, they are not accrediting clinical psychology programs any more - only counseling based ones.  For more on that here: http://www.cacrep.org/for-students/student-faqs-2/
Several states require CACREP accredited programs over MPCAC ones. Additionally, a lot of other states require a 60 credits. So they mean a CACREP program even though it's not expressly identified. I know a lot of students who graduated a MPCAC program only to find out they had to pay for the additional 12 credits after graduate to get licensed! If you look at this and thing "oh good, my state is safe" I say go for it, but be warned that the ACA is really trying to push for concrete CACREP across the board. You also run the risk of more problems than it's worth if you move into a state with CACREP requirements (or decide to start telecounseling in other states).
The CACREP programs line up for a PhD Counseling or PsyD Counseling. 

Yes. It is worth your time. You are a strong candidate for any LPC or LMFT program. The only thing I really see against you is possibly that other candidates may have had more directly related family treatment experience (such as working for a BHRS program). The LPC and LMFT are heavily rooted in professional experience, so the adcom might have thought you better line for the LPC than LMFT. Don't let one rejection stop you from accomplishing your goal.
Also, as @BackNSchool83 pointed out, your age is not and obstacle. It may actually be a strength to your application. The experiential and 'real world' components are critical in counseling degrees. My MA program had 40 in the cohort, and about 1/4 were over 30. Most others had worked at least 2-3 years in the field.