[throwaway2037]

This is a brilliant post. One of the best that I have read in months.

Real question: How do you know? Example: Did you partner get a PhD in Physics at Stanford and you at UCB? Or, did you get masters at Stanford, but PhD at UCB?

[Ar-Curunir]

Anybody who has spent any time in either place could tell you that the atmosphere is miles opposite. Wrt “choose advisor, not department”, that’s standard PhD advice when you have good options

[tfehring]

I live in Palo Alto and previously went to grad school in Berkeley, and I can corroborate. Frankly you wouldn't need to spend more than a couple hours in either location to pick up on those vibes.