Hello, everyone~I am glad to hear any suggestions about school selection, IUB, TAMU, VANDY or PITTS?
I am a theoretical physics fan and aspire to do some research on HEP. However, I am afraid that a usually 6-9 years' postdoc job is really tough for me. As you know, this is unavoidable if I choose HEP theory. Also, science never has all the answers for life~Right? haha, we need to take some other factors into consideration, climate, location and overall rankings~
Among these 4 schools, IUB and TAMU shares the highest physics rank: 45. IUB has a reputated nuclear physics rank and the whole department is emphasized on Nuclear&HEP research. TAMU has a high fame in string theory research. PITTS is located in a large city which is better than other 3 universities. VANDY shares the highest overall rank(17) like the so-called Southern Harvard~ Also, there are strong but few professors in both HEP theory and experiment.
So, I am hesitating to choose one to go. Actually, I am still waiting for UMN. Your help will be sincerely appreciated!
Best
LJ