HI!
So I got accepted into several programs and now have to choose between Duke, Michigan Ann-Arbor, and UChicago. I attended the online visits for Duke and UofM but Chicago did not do one. I was very impressed by Michigan and the broad areas that its faculty covers. Duke is obviously famous for Bayesian Stats but I don't really wanna do that unless it's computational methods for BS like Variational Inference or Normalizing Flows. In Chicago, I was intrigued by Prof. Vietch's research but he replied that he will not take on any more students for the next few years as he was at "capacity". I am mainly battled between Duke and UofM tbh.
Both departments seem very friendly and collaborative. UofM seems a better fit for research and it's a much bigger university, however, Duke's campus seems very nice and the climate is definitely better for me. Moreover, Duke's stipend makes you enjoy a slightly better standard of living compared to Ann Arbor.
Any advice?