Brand new here and wanted some advice. My acceptance letter basically says the following: If you do not respond in some way within 3 weeks the admissions committee will proceed down the list of candidates and offer the assistantship to the next-ranked candidate. You will remain eligible for admission to the program, and will be able to accept the offered assistantship until it is accepted by another incoming student. The sooner I receive your answer, the better.
The assistantship the program is offering is worth over $25,000. I have applied to quite a few other programs and have not yet heard back from them. Should I say yes within the three-week deadline and hope the other schools get back to me before then? Would it still be possible to withdraw if I get accepted elsewhere? Thanks!