I have 2 offers, 1 reject, 1 waitlist at Harvard, and 6 more schools to go. The schools all have the April 15th clause. But the accept schools asked me to respond ASAP. What deadline should I aim for, as a courtesy to the schools and the candidates they waitlisted?
According to Harvard, the waitlist might not resolve until April 15. But they won't tell me details of the funding (how much money, how much teaching), so I cannot make an informed comparison of their possibility vs. the real offers.
What should I do?
Actually I was never keen on attending Harvard (not familiar with research/faculty, coursework respectable but not as comprehensive as I like). However, Harvard has the Harvard name. And ever since the schools started replying, everybody and their grandmother is telling me the importance of being pragmatic. Am I just at a weak moment, falling into the peer pressure?
For comparison: I am thrilled about the 2 offers. One is a state school which is my favorite of all 10 places. They are not ranked high (~50), but I believe in their program, and several faculty do research in an area that really interests me (none of the other schools research this area). Cons: bad location, TAship is heavy at 20 hrs/week. The second school is an Ivy, where my advisor-to-be is a very productive, diverse, well-known figure in the field. Pros: location, Taship is very light at 10 hrs/week.