<p>I never said there would be no difference between schools, and I know for a fact that some of my physics courses at Rice covered more material in a shorter time than those of people I know who attended other schools. That said, I don’t think the differences are that stark, which is why I think trying to assemble a ranking of physics undergrad programs is not that helpful. If you’re looking at elite schools, as the OP apparently is with Northwestern, you’ll find a pretty good physics program basically everywhere and I think it’s much more important to focus on how happy you will be attending that school. Choosing the school with the most intense physics curriculum won’t necessarily make you any better of a physicist, especially since you’ll have to go to grad school to work in the field anyway.</p>