Kazan

I believe Chicago is better for macro. Princeton's placements are good on average, but if you look at the macro guys, you'll see they are placed relatively poorly. As for Chicago's 'frightening' reputation, I spoke to my friend (2nd year at Chicago), she said that while you have to be independent, faculty are always ready to give a hand. Faculty just encourage you to be independent (which is definitely very important if you want to become a successful researcher), but 'inattention' is a huge exaggeration. Well, maybe she was biased, but, in my opinion, placement record should be a main criterion since it represents your future. Even if some rumors about Chicago are true, their placements are still better in comparison with Princeton's macro guys, so perhaps this 'bad' atmosphere at Chicago is not that bad (or it is compensated by some advantages).