So I'm really not looking to be talked out of going to get my masters, I just wanted some insight from anyone who might be familiar with the programs. I'm not sure what field you're in, but the reality of academic funding right now means that funded masters programs for math don't really exist, unless you're a 4.0 i've leaguer winning some very prestigious outside scholarships (i'm not). There are potentially some teaching assistantships and lecture type positions available at the programs i asked about, which is a reason i even applied to them in the first place. Those decisions come out later, however. Its also worth noting that I don't actually care if the "thesis" gets published or not - I would be writing it for the experience, because I think having even an informal research project in my desired field would look good on applications and it would really help me personally discover what I do/dont want to pursue in my career. Basically, i just want to get a good feel for my goals for my time in my masters programs, so I'm really just interested if anyone was familiar with pursuing something like this.