Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Thanks everyone.

All, I was recently accepted to a program that is pressuring me to decide this week whether or not to accept their offer. If I don't make a decision by then I will forfeit my spot and they will start contacting people on their waitlist. I've heard back from 5/11 programs. All acceptances, except this is the first program from the top of my list. I don't want to forfeit my spot but I also want to be able to able to consider all my options, especially since I have yet to hear back from most of my top programs. I think it is totally unfair for a school to expect a decision only a WEEK after offering admissions. I know the April 15th deadline is not binding, but even if a school doesn't recognize that date they should still respect their applicants enough to give them enough time to make an informed decision and not force them into a game of chance. (Anyone else had this problem? Seems like it should be illegal). I plan on accepting the offer, while being prepared to retract my acceptance if something more appealing pops up. Not sound ethics, I know, but aside from some guilt on behalf of the waitlistees, I don't feel too bad for playing with the program since they made me feel played with. My real frustration lies with the whole application process, which needs to be fixed somehow so that applicants and programs aren't forced to play chess with each other. Anyway, my question comes down to this: I know there are no legal consequences to retracting an acceptance, but are there any other consequences? i.e. pissing off the program so much they start a smear campaign or, like, a permanent stain that will affect my whole academic career? Basically I'm trying to determine whether I'm committing the gravest of sins or if this is just something normal that happens all the time. Also, just wanted to rant into the internet. Any advice/ general comments on the situation would be appreciated. Thanks.