Since I’m open to do early universe cosmology, both theoretical and computational (because I view theory and computation as overlapping areas of astronomy in terms of daily work, and hence my openness to do computation or theory), I would think that UIUC astronomy may be a better bet for a graduate school transfer than UIUC physics. If anyone has any information on whether I should apply to physics or astronomy, if I elect to apply to graduate school, please PM me.
For some reason I keep thinking about UIUC because 1) UIUC seems to do science topics that I want out of graduate school and 2) it may have, in my mind, some reputation (warranted or not) in handling autistic students. What services are actually available to autistic students at UIUC? Were their users satisfied with the services?