<p>Well, after my interview my interviewer (adcom) told me that Caltech was the most similar to Chicago in spirit (of the schools I had mentioned). So they are not that different.</p>
<p>In terms of pure astro, Chicago is phenomenal (esp. astrophys). I would certainly put it in the class of the schools you mentioned. Note: I think the quality of the programs at the schools discussed here is so high it’s hard to distinguish between them, which is why I have such nebulous phrasing.</p>
<p>I’m unsure about Chicago’s pure physics wrt astro, other than its generally reckoned to be very good. I know that it complements astro v. well; I know the two combined produce a product that is of truly amazing quality.</p>
<p>I did not apply EA to CIT.</p>
<p>Finally, I apologize for the tone of this post and my previous one. It is rude and brusque, which I did not intend.</p>