torpedofish

Analytic Philosophy of Religion and Metaphysics (focus on free will & the philosophy of time) and a recently acquired interest in Epistemology 
My dream programs are of course Notre Dame, Rutgers, and NYU, but I highly doubt I'll get into any of those: the competition will probably make it nearly impossible as an undergrad...
Other programs I'll be applying to off the top of my head: Northern Illinois, UC Berkeley, Oxford, St. Andrews, UC Riverside/USC/UCSD, Princeton, U Michigan, etc.

Ahh very high on the Stanford wait-list, and this has always been my definite #1 choice!!! So happy   Also, please please if you know you won't go there but have been admitted decline as soon as you can! (I know it's not easy.)  

I'm watching videos about colors with my 10 month old daughter. The characters are crayons that can only say their respective color in annoying, high-pitched voices. I need a drink.

Omg ancient philosophy jokes. I cannot wait to be in a grad program and have these on a daily basis. 

No - I declined this weekend. I very much wanted to visit, but I thought it would be more helpful to the department and less selfish to decline the offer before the visit, so that someone else could go and use it more fully/not just in order to meet people.  

Was just notified that I am on the wait-list for Columbia! As I posted on the board I have only received rejections until now...so this comes as a very pleasant surprise. 
 

I'm still waiting to hear from UCLA, and I'm a second year in a Ph.D. program.  I'm sure my rejection will be coming any day now.

Claiming the Cambridge MPhil acceptance!

No - I declined this weekend. I very much wanted to visit, but I thought it would be more helpful to the department and less selfish to decline the offer before the visit, so that someone else could go and use it more fully/not just in order to meet people.  

No - I declined this weekend. I very much wanted to visit, but I thought it would be more helpful to the department and less selfish to decline the offer before the visit, so that someone else could go and use it more fully/not just in order to meet people.  

You are a perfect person! Maybe I'm just selfish, but I sincerely hope that the lucky birds who would probably decline Notre Dame's offer do so sooner rather than later. I was wait listed at Notre Dame.

No - I declined this weekend. I very much wanted to visit, but I thought it would be more helpful to the department and less selfish to decline the offer before the visit, so that someone else could go and use it more fully/not just in order to meet people.  

Cangratudolences! 

No - I declined this weekend. I very much wanted to visit, but I thought it would be more helpful to the department and less selfish to decline the offer before the visit, so that someone else could go and use it more fully/not just in order to meet people.  

No - I declined this weekend. I very much wanted to visit, but I thought it would be more helpful to the department and less selfish to decline the offer before the visit, so that someone else could go and use it more fully/not just in order to meet people.  

I've been advised to only visit serious contenders. If that happens to be all the programs that I've been accepted at, then fine, but I was told to not waste people's (especially to waste the money that could go toward another more serious applicant's travel). 
I definitely understand what your advisor probably means. Make connections. Visit departments that you may not realize are perfect for you. I think that's all in good spirit, but also don't visit the school if it's definitely not comparing to another program. These schools can get really screwed over if a lot of people visit and then decline offers and other applicants miss out on good opportunities. (I've seen it happen the last two years with students applying from my undergraduate institution. They had to wait till the last minute to know what was happening and schools were really freaking out at them.)
If you're already well aware of all this and already turned down offers to the schools that aren't contending. I would guess the visitation dates for Columbia and Princeton would be early April. I'm not actually really basing this off of anything though except knowledge of when the visitation dates are of schools that have recently released. They're all in early April or late March. The other thing to consider is that you don't need to show up to their visitation weekends and can just show up any old time that is convenient for you.
I think it wouldn't be unreasonable to just tell all these programs that you'll have everything confirmed by this weekend or early next week. I would also inform them on contingency plans. (e.g. If I get into Princeton, I will decline your offer. or No matter what happens next week, I will be visiting, but I may have to move some stuff around if....). The other thing you can do is plan everything except the last trip. (You wont have the return trip planned but you'll have the flight to the last place planned from the place before it. Then, just inform that school that you'll get back to them within the next week and a half.) Then, plan the last trip around Columbia and Princeton if they give you an offer.
I hope this all wasn't completely obvious or was already considered. It's sometimes the obvious things we overlook (like how amazing it is that some of us have gotten into top programs!!!).
 

People who care about this do realize that the norms of politeness are different in different languages, and different grammatical structures may require different solutions. The masculine generic may be fine in Spanish; this is what is polite in English. For an example going the opposite direction: English only has one form of "you"; but that doesn't make it any more polite if I walk into Spanish-speaking classrooms calling all of my professors "tu" rather than "usted."

You're right, of course. I understand that my choice of venue was insensitive and my phrasing, tactless (not sure there is a sensitive venue for it other than a silent, unscrutinizing piece of paper, and I've already scribbled on one of those). I do wish people wouldn't imply, in incorrectly associating my frustration with my offer of admission, that I have the emotional capacity of a lightbulb and can only either be happy about the totality of my current state of affairs or unhappy about it. I'm pretty sure, and I hope I'm right about this, that I'm capable of being happy about one thing and unhappy about another. Nevertheless you're correct that I should refrain from going on about the comparatively insignificant bad that I'm experiencing when I've got it as good, in one very significant respect, as I do. I was being sincere in my apology above and I'll say it again: I'm sorry for the way I came off.
I've gotten similar lashings from friends and acquaintances who've scoffed at me and called me "stupid and irrational" for my current emotional state, and I don't doubt they're right. I feel like an arrogant, thoroughly dislikeable and genuinely horrid prick right now, and all I can do is hope it'll fade along with my disappointment. Self-applied tough love is probably the best mindset to adopt insofar as I can, and I know that. Thank you for speaking so understandingly. I'll have some tea for my sore throat now. Tea really is a beautiful thing.
 

Perhaps he isn't aware: Harvard is one of the 10 best universities in the world to pursue a PhD in philosophy. And he's in there.

I think I've posted this elsewhere already, but I've declined my Illinois-Urbana offer and withdrawn my application to NIU's MA program. I'm afraid I don't have any more to offer at the moment! 
@torpedofish Declined Cornell and Notre Dame! I wish you would've sent me one of those admits 

I did! I did!  Eeeeeee.
 
And it's not so much luck as much as it's that you're obviously just very prepared. 

Well, if it helps, if I combine all of my offers, I'd be able to afford to rent a studio in NYC, no utilities...

I am formally declining my rejections from: Emory, MSU, Oregon, U New Mexico, and Villanova. 
 
Hope this helps someone out! 

I just declined Toronto, Cornell, and Notre Dame. I've found it surprisingly draining. They're all such great places, and I just kept thinking of the awesome people who work there. Hope this helps somebody.

I just declined Toronto, Cornell, and Notre Dame. I've found it surprisingly draining. They're all such great places, and I just kept thinking of the awesome people who work there. Hope this helps somebody.