They seem equally good in terms of educational opportunities and research. But, which one sets you up better for a potential career at NASA? Thank you.
Your college “brand” generally is not a factor in federal government hiring.
A degree from a prestigious college might make a good impression, but I doubt the UChicago brand vs. the Princeton brand, per se, will matter.
https://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/default.htm
If NASA is the key factor, look at Purdue 
I don’t think either will help better. Here is a list of what many Princeton Astrophysics Majors are now doing:
https://web.astro.princeton.edu/academic/undergraduate-program/astro-majors-1928
Are you planning on grad school? In terms of physics in general, grad school is going to matter more than UG. For UG what matters is coursework, GPA, and research. In terms of working for NASA, you might want to look at internship opportunities for UGs. UA-Huntsville, for example, has connections with NASA. https://www.uah.edu/asgc
Thank you all very much!
Some advice on working for the government/NASA:
- They wont pay you much, the private sector will pay you a lot more for your talents.
- Many top researchers will feel bogged down by the bureaucracy and red tape that is notorious in govt agencies.
- As a junior scientist you will be doing a lot of very boring unchallenging work in the government which will most likely end up being a lot more program management then science.
- The pace of decision making can be glacial.
- There is quite a bit of crossing over between the government and private sectors with the more talented people staying in the private sector except at the very highest levels.
Finally most of the real science and engineering is done via contract by companies working for NASA.
That’s very true haha. I guess my childhood fantasies are making me delusional haha. @CU123