33andathirdRPM

If I were in the OPs shoes, I'd probably be upset, too.  However it seems that the OP is more upset about not getting into his/her safety school than anything.  
 
Based on the few snippets of evidence provided, it seems probable that Madison has a preference for on-U.S.-soil applicants because of the weather associated with the upper Midwest during the time of the year they hold interviews. The potential for cancelled flights is high.  It is simply easier for someone within the U.S. to make necessary changes to travel if needed (inclement weather).  International travel will not be as easy.  Also, if they are paying to have you it is simply a heckofalot more expensive to fly in potential candidates from outside of the U.S.
 
The term "frequently":  The OP seems to think that it means always.  It doesn't.  

We are the Borg. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile.

I am the lizard king. I can do anything.

I'm the Mother of Dragons.... AND I WILL TAKE WHAT IS MINE WITH FIRE AND BLOOD

Not doing *well

Todavía debería ser "well." Adverbio versus adjetivo.

Am I the onlyone who finds this conversation completely obtuse?

You will not need to know matrix multiplication on the way in the door for the material covered in Stewart's text. You'll develop the necessary basics of linear algebra - euclidean distance, inner product, cross product, etc - during the course. Do go back and review differentiation and antidifferentiation. For now, you can set aside the material on sequences and series, although I *highly* recommend that you review that because it will come back farther along in your studies. I highly encourage you to review implicit differentiation, the chain and product rules of differentiation, 'u-substitions,' integration by parts, trig substitutions and polar coordinates now.

It seems like you and person A will never converge

We are the Math. We will add your biological and intellectual distinctiveness to our own. Your research will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.

Just to add to what 33andathirdRPM already wrote, 
 
1. Finding something for less than $500 could be pretty difficult. The best way to do this might be to find a roommate, (perhaps in your cohort if you've met a few people already?) and share a 2 bedroom place. Renting is a lot cheaper in Durham than Chapel Hill/Carrboro, but still not cheap. 
 
2. As already mentioned, bus is possible, but taxi is far easier.
 
3. Not really sure, can you stay with a current graduate student you've met?
 
4. I would try zipcar.

1) Can't help ya with that one since I'm in Raleigh.
 
2) Bus system - http://www.triangletransit.org/
 
You might be better off taking a taxi when you get in, so you can travel directly to your destination.
 
3) Hostels aren't very common in the US. You could look for a budget hotel or motel while you search for accommodations, couchsurf, or maybe get in touch with someone from your department to see if a current student would let you crash for a few days.
 
4) This may be of help - http://www.gotriangle.org/go-local/partners/duke-transit/
 
Good luck!

Hi! I've lived in Durham for the past five years, and in the central NC region for my whole life. So also feel free to ask me any questions. Cost of living here is amazingly low, I wish I wasn't moving to such an expensive city (Seattle)!
 
The weather here is pretty bipolar. And the humidity in the summer can be killer. Other than that, Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill aren't big cities, but I think there's always something fun to do!

Pancakes and scrambled eggs, quesadillas, salad

I went to school here for 6 freggin years.  It was really fun.  A lot of canadians go there so you'll never feel out of place or feel like you can't relate.  Because the school is one of the top 3 research schools and it's more affordable compared to UM and MSU, the student population is growing each year.  The school gets quite a bit of funding however they also provide a lot of support to students.  The school is constantly upgrading, every university president that's been there when I was there have been good.
e.
 
The english department in my opinion has always been good.  They offer a lot of help to people like me who was a horrible writer.  I liked all my teachers, the key is to be down to earth.  They have a lot of different English classes with a lot of sections.  So you shouldn't have a hard time finding a TA position.  From my experience, as an outsider looking in I can say English majors here take their craft seriously and because it's a more diverse international community, you'll have different perspectives.
 
There are also many venues like museums and independent book stores that promote up literary work from students.
 
Don't worry about safety, though I must tell you whether you're in Detroit, Chicago, LA, or New York, you need to be aware that all major cities are dangerous compared to suburbs.  They have good and bad areas.  People come to Detroit acting like they're in the suburbs and then complain about the city when something goes wrong.  Use street smarts and be nice to everyone.  I've lived in the city for 15 years before actually going to WSU for 6 years.  Nothing bad has ever happened to me considering I have done a lot of partying til 3am.  Especially considering a lot of the parties were in the old warehouses.  Additionally, WSU has the one of the best and well known campus police departments.  If something ever goes wrong around campus, you called WSU police instead of 911, Detroit police take too long to respond sometimes.
 
WSU is mostly a commutor school with a grow population of on campus students.  A big hipster community and growing biking community.  People who come to Detroit always tell me that they didn't realize how big techno is there.  I don't see why you wouldn't like Detroit, as an English major Detroit has one of the biggest art and literary communities.  There is so much inspiration and these people move into the city because there's more freedom to express yourself and your craft here compared to major cities that are more regulated and expensive.  Lots of cool new unique and small businesses are popping up.  Eastern Market is still held as one of the best European style farmers markets in America.  Downtown and Midtown Detroit doesn't have too many grocery markets so Eastern Market is where you want to do most your grocery shopping.  You also will not have a shortage of events to go to year round, and the surrounding cities Royal Oak and Ferndale are really fun.  Additionally, micro breweries are big her I think anyone would like WSU if they take advantage of what the community offers but I have seen so many that just stay on campus, do homework, and stay home.  Good luck!

Dear OP,
 
I fear that you're worrying too much about letter sign offs.
 
Best,
 
33 1/3

Dear OP,
 
I fear that you're worrying too much about letter sign offs.
 
Best,
 
33 1/3

Dear OP,
 
I fear that you're worrying too much about letter sign offs.
 
Best,
 
33 1/3

Smart money is on "nothing happened."

Smart money is on "nothing happened."

*avuncular pat*

Thread is getting hilarious!
 
Just pick one, it's a casual outing, not getting married.

No offense, but this isn't that type of forum.

Will you be working with models in the future that feature differential equations? If so, I'd think that taking an introductory course and maybe even a PDE course would be beneficial. If you take a good linear algebra course and an introductory differential equations course you should immediately start to see a lot of connections. An analysis course would help with understanding the particulars of the PDE course. A numerical analysis course could (should?) feature schemes for solving those PDEs.
 
So, in other words...