Accepted w/good offer, no news from 2 others?

[voaku]

Hey guys!  I need a little bit of help on this one even though its probably pretty straightforward, and this seemed to be the best place to ask. 

I applied to 4 schools, rejected from top school A, got into pretty good school B with really awesome advisor and great funding, and no news since Jan from good schools C and D. So obviously A is off the table, but I got accepted off the waitlist for school B- so my advisor needs me to say yes/no ASAP. I emailed schools C and D a few weeks ago asking for admissions updates, but they have yet to respond to me. Didn't have interviews at those two schools and am less qualified for those projects.

My question here is this- should I go ahead and formally accept school B's offer? And if so, should I send a courtesy email to C and D letting them know I accepted somewhere else?

Thanks in advance guys, I appreciate the input!

 

[Elephas]

The general consensus I've seen is do not accept school B if you will have regrets if accepted to schools C/D. If you see yourself being happier at either institutions then I'd try a follow up email. If you really like school B then yes accept, and you can send a withdrawal emails to the schools though I'm not necessarily certain based on lack of response if they'll see it. 

[juilletmercredi]

Would you rather go to C and D than go to B? That's the key question here. If B is a good fit and you'd rather go there than any other place, then go ahead and decline happily.

If either or both of C or D are more appealing than B, then gather information. Drop those departments a line and say that you're in the process of considering some offers from other departments and you'd like to get an idea of when you might hear either way from them. This may speed up the process. (Are C and/or D schools that normally interview candidates? If they are, then you may already have your answer - just not formally.)