Deciding between Stanford and Caltech
Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 2:47 pm
Hello everyone,
I have been admitted to both Stanford and Caltech. I am now so confused as to where I want to go.
About myself:
Interested in theoretical astrophysics (I am interested to work on some observational projects, but mostly interested in theoretical works). Pretty much open to any kind of theoretical astrophysics, from first stars to glactic and extragalactic astrophysics. Not so much interested in hard-core cosmology, and particle astrophysics.
Concerns:
Caltech seems to be an obviously better choice interms of research, diverse faculty, and the resource they have. However, their incoming students population is pretty large, and the number of graduate students in the department is also massive. Thus, it does not feel like home. Moreover, I heard that the environment there is too intense. That is obviously good, if one can withstand that. However, I feel very uncomfortable working in a too intense environment.
In that regard, Stanford is better, as the department size is relatively small. The downside is there are not many astrophysics faculty members whose research interests me. However, I have 3 people whom I want to work with, and they are also positive about it. In this regard, I feel like Stanford is definitely not a bad choice.
Any suggestions/comments?
I have been admitted to both Stanford and Caltech. I am now so confused as to where I want to go.
About myself:
Interested in theoretical astrophysics (I am interested to work on some observational projects, but mostly interested in theoretical works). Pretty much open to any kind of theoretical astrophysics, from first stars to glactic and extragalactic astrophysics. Not so much interested in hard-core cosmology, and particle astrophysics.
Concerns:
Caltech seems to be an obviously better choice interms of research, diverse faculty, and the resource they have. However, their incoming students population is pretty large, and the number of graduate students in the department is also massive. Thus, it does not feel like home. Moreover, I heard that the environment there is too intense. That is obviously good, if one can withstand that. However, I feel very uncomfortable working in a too intense environment.
In that regard, Stanford is better, as the department size is relatively small. The downside is there are not many astrophysics faculty members whose research interests me. However, I have 3 people whom I want to work with, and they are also positive about it. In this regard, I feel like Stanford is definitely not a bad choice.
Any suggestions/comments?