[Astronomy/Astrophysics] UPenn vs Brown vs UCDavis

[THShin]

Maybe, the question itself sounds really stupid to some of you guys, like, "what...? of course UPenn you idiot!"

 

But my research topic is gravitational weak-lensing and all the three schools have top-class lensing programs.

 

*UC Davis: the biggest lensing resources, good weather in northern Cal. and 23,500$ funding

*Brown: small but concentrated program, the stipend is over 31,000$

*UPenn: the most name-valued one, lensing program is also great. 29,000$ stipend

 

I almost made up my mind with UPenn but I am not totally sure.

 

What do you think, guys? 

[TakeruK]

Programs usually let you visit. Why don't you visit them and make sure your expectations for each school matches reality? I found that several of my schools were better/worse than I originally thought. I think the best decision is something only you can make based on your personal experiences with your interactions at each program. It'd be pretty hard for one of us here to help you with that