I have something of a dilemma.
I've received a very nice offer from a well-ranked Canadian school as well as a couple of others from US institutions. These offers are less attractive, but viable alternatives. However, I am still waiting to hear from 16 schools.
Here's the real problem: the Canadian school has a response deadline in the middle of March.
I imagine that some of the schools I'm waiting to hear from won't even have made first round offers by the time their deadline rolls around. All (worthwhile) US graduate schools (in my area, at least) have signed an agreement that forbids them from requiring responses to their offers before April 15th, but this school clearly hasn't signed the same agreement.
So, the dilemma is this:
1. Reply favorably to the Canadian institution prior to the March deadline. Doing so in good faith requires that I decline the other available offers that I already have as well as those I might receive after the response deadline.
2. Decline the Canadian offer, which is the best financially speaking, in hopes of receiving an offer from one of my preferred schools.
In terms of opportunity cost, there are significant losses in both scenarios. Although, in either case, I'm in *somewhere* (and a reasonably good somewhere), but I'm just not sure which way to go here... I'm beginning to feel that the early decision pressure from the Canadian school is reason enough to turn them down. /sigh
What do you fine folks think?