I have acceptances from Columbia, Chicago, Cornell and Berkeley but I am having a tough time picking between the first two. The issue is that back here in Pakistan, few people really know about Chicago; I find myself explaining that it is not a state school to everyone I meet. So, based purely on brand value, I think Columbia would win out. But what are other factors that one should be looking at?
I understand that it is extremely difficult for LLMs to get jobs as it is, but in terms of potential employment prospects, networking etc. how do the two fare?