bernie1

I am interested in energy and battery technology and I was accepted into a handful of PhD programs in this area. I ultimately was ready to commit to Columbia Chemical Engineering until I received an acceptance to the the University of Michigan's PhD program yesterday. I wont get to visit Michigan before I need to make a decision. Is the better department reputation at Michigan worth taking the risk of not having a good feel for the school and department?

I was accepted into PhD programs at UCLA and UPenn for electrical engineering, and Columbia for chemical engineering. I am interested in nanotechnology for energy and computing. What are some pros and cons of the locations, schools, programs, ect. that I should consider? Do certain programs have better reputations for my areas of interest? Which would you choose?