<p>If you want to max out chances of match add other QB schools with strong physics programs to your list: Caltech, Princeton, U Chicago, Rice, Williams, Yale…</p>
<p>hard to tell you how to rank schools as your priorities will drive that…For Physics in general one strategy would be to pick a good school that strikes a balance between the scale necessary to support good facilities and research projects on the one hand, and the intimacy (esp. small class sizes) needed to get good instruction on the other. Several schools fit from your list and those mentioned above.</p>
<p>For theoretical in particular, with math and philosophy, Chicago historically has been very friendly to interdisciplinary connections like that. The school has a strong commitment to UG teaching, small classes, great facilities, and a heady intellectual atmosphere. Princeton, once Einstein’s home, is probably historically the biggest name in this field (tp) (and assuming you deliberately left off MIT for your own reasons) but I would think Rice or Brown – or any of the others really-- would be great too. Having a faculty member you really want to work with can be a draw. Contacting this prof is a good idea too.</p>