<p>Dauntless has it right. </p>
<p>If you’ve got a specific research interest, look at the programs at Princeton and MIT and Harvard in condensed matter. Talk to the professors. Talk to the current grad students. Find out how long it takes students working under those profs to finish, find out if they’re getting good job offers. Are there research openings in the groups, and is there money to pay for grad assistantships? Are these people you’d be happy working with, or are they evil incarnate?</p>