sonnyday

Social, I agree, but it wouldn't take me that long (unless I was notified close to March), given that these three schools are very likely to give you full funding and the only real differences (as they are all top notch) would be the atmosphere. But yes, any school you are going to spend 5+ years at, possibly in a state far away from home, should take as careful consideration as necessary.

I didn't apply to any back-up schools. I had planned to initially, but then I realized, "Would I really want to go there if they accepted me?" and I figured it didn't make sense to waaste the extra money on sending transcripts, GRE score reports, and app fees. So I only applied to schools I absolutely wanted to go to (some better than others). But I am also applying for research positions. I took a year off after getting my BA and am applying to Ph.D for the fall. So I do have a job right now in a great field that is related to what I would like to research (I love it there actually). But I am on a temporary contract, so... At the very least, if the contract ends, or I can't find a job, and I somehow can't go to graduate school (I do have offers but my husband and I applied as a "two-body package"), all of which I strongly doubt, I guess we will be moving back in the parents.

I agree with Miratrix. But I do think its worth a try to ask, if even just for a few schools you thought you were going to get into. There was one school who let me know why I was not accepted. The department head (without my asking) let me know that they really wanted to accept me, but a transcript from a community college I had attended part-time came in way too late. The department was fine with that (the transferred grades were already on my university transcript anyway), and I scrambled to get them to hurry with releasing the transcript while we kept contact for over two weeks. But the graduate admissions would not allow them to nominate me for a fellowship unless it came through before a certain date--and all accepted students needed to be nominated for a fellowship. They attempted to petition for an extension, but were stifled. Long story short: Bureaucracy. Even worse, the transcript came just one day after the deadline. The department head contacted me personally to explain this to me. Its a huge bummer, but I think when there are certain unfortunate circumstances such as late transcripts, no advisor "fit", etc., then they will probably tell you because it actually makes you feel better as it is to no fault of your own (although I was just as annoyed that I missed out on a chance at a great school over a small technicality). But if you were just inadequate in some way or someone else was just slightly more appealing than you (even if you were a 4.0 student) based on grades or scores, they probably will not tell you this.

I can certainly sympathize with those that have not gotten any acceptances yet. But the whole admissions process is really pretty messed up for all of us. I have gotten two acceptances at one safe school and one medium. Rejected at 5 others, waitlisted at 1, and awaiting decisions from 4 more. I am currently trying to choose between the two, as the safe has offered me an excellent full funding package and medium has offered me basically nothing (a stipend I couldn't possibly live off of as a GA and limited tuition remission). After campus visits next week and the week after, I'll decline one, but the complexity comes in the offers or rejections that I may get in between. At this point, it wouldn't make sense for me to let go of a school (even if it is my safety) because that's what a safety is for. Further, unless its your top school, its not even in your best interest to decline offers, especially since no one has to until April 15th. No one will know immediately whether they want to accept or not, and it would be counterproductive to do so without visiting the school and careful deliberation (especially when the funding packages are different). I'd rather go to the school I am being waitlisted at, but I am sure there are people there holding offers that are waiting for schools they'd rather be going to, or they are deciding between two or more also. I'm more irritated with the schools, who either formally (notifying you) or informally (making you wait with no response) waitlist possibly hundreds of applicants, not the applicants themselves. All that to say: Those holding on to schools are likely doing it for a reason, and it is a big stressful decision to have to choose between two or more schools. But I'll also say, someone choosing between Princeton, Yale, and UC Berkeley and holding on to all three offers until April 15th is a piss off.