Aspiring Astrophysicist

harvard_and_berkeley
Wed, 07 Oct 2015 03:18:34 +0000

I have a PhD in Astrophysics.

The difference in ranking (PhD ranking) between Columbia and UChicago is completely insignificant. For all intent and purpose, they are virtually tied. At the undergraduate level, there is virtually no difference at all.

Go with the university that feels the better fit for you and ignore tiny differences in rankings of graduate programs (which also don’t necessarily translate to the undergrad level anyway… to whit, there are many outstanding liberal arts colleges that have very strong undergraduate physics programs that are “unranked” because they don’t have PhD programs… e.g. Reed, Swarthmore, Williams, Wellesley, Hamilton, Union, Carleton, Pomona, Vassar, Harvey Mudd, Wesleyan, Bryn Mawr [actually has a PhD program] are all fantastic in physics).