<p>Guitar…, untrue. The U of C astro program is quite phenomenal, easily the match and likely the superior of the Berkeley program. It is not the best idea to specialize in Astrophys straight off; a physics major gives you the tools you need to analyze data in a broader context, aka make more fundamental (==> important?) discoveries. Specializing too early, you are unable to have as broad, holistic a view.</p>
<p>This is totally beyond the fact that Chicago specifically has an astrophysics program…</p>