Hey,
Its been a long time since you posted this but I wanted to inquire about how your decision turned out. I'm facing somewhat of a similar situation. Instead of Rochester, I've got an admit at CREOL, UCF. I wanted to know whether ranking of the university really matters that much in admission. Would it be better to go in a completely optics oriented place like CREOl or should you go for the name as you said. I'd like to know how your experience turned out wherever you went.
Thanks,