Case vs. WashU BME PhD

[battleidiot]

Trying to narrow my choices down to these two schools... 

 

Case Western Reserve University (Program: Biomedical Engineering, PhD)

Pros: Fully funded, 25K/year, excellent research match, good funding, top 10 BME program, more industry opportunities, strong hospital 

Cons: Lower overall prestige/not name-brand, weather (heard it can get really cold) 

 

Washington University in St. Louis (Program: Biomedical Engineering, PhD)

Pros: Fully funded, 28K/year, good research match, excellent funding, top 10 overall program, strong medical school, hospital 

Cons: Lower BME ranking/younger department, weather (heard it can get really hot) 

 

I have found professors I would like to work with in both schools. I have observed the BME faculty at WashU in general seem stronger (alma matter) but the

ones at Case seem more well established (in terms of lab size). Each program is roughly the same size in terms of faculty and students with Case being a little bit bigger. 

but Case has an older program as well with est. 1968 while WashU's program was est. 1997. Case does a direct match while WashU is on rotation for at least 1 year. 

I'd prefer the cold over the heat and it seems Cleveland is cheaper to live in than St. Louis (but they also give less money) but at this point, these are but minor concerns.