Looking for advice on choosing between Columbia and Chicago for graduate study in political science. I am broadly interested in political economy and comparative politics, mixed of qualitative and quantitative methods. Both schools have great faculty. Chicago’s CIR prog is more intensive, with a thesis requirement, but other than that, it is similar to Columbia’s pol science MA, that requires classes in quantitative methods. Chicago’s program in general seems more structured and the class size is slightly bigger than Columbia.
NY is not as cold and more convenient in terms of travel options than Chicago.
Any suggestions or thoughts on choosing? Gotta decide in a week. I value academic community, student life, and social life.