Reply to Top ranked LACs vs top ranked universities

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[quote=Anonymous]OP here, response continued.

[quote]Obviously some other people reach different conclusions than you do. I can't fathom how someone can spend hours researching this just so they can declare a conclusive answer to what is ultimately a subjective personal choice.[/quote]
I find that people would appreciate the information. A lot of these factors are not necessarily discussed, and when it comes to something as important as the college selection process, I think there's nothing wrong with discussing it. I'm not looking for agreement or consensus, and can admit that I may have a bias or overlooked important factors.

[quote]National Merit Scholarships are not a great measure of school quality. Some schools intentionally prioritize "buying" NMS students in order to appear more prestigious.[/quote] 
I'm only looking into schools which don't sponsor NMS directly, such as most top universities and LACs.

[quote]As a share of the number of students enrolled, the elite LACs are extremely well represented in top PHD programs.[/quote]
I think this may have been the case historically, but it doesn't seem to be happening at this day and age (LAC graduates getting into the absolute highest ranked PhD programs as well as students at top universities are). See the Swarthmore letter I shared above.

[quote]The teaching is usually much better at the LACs. Faculty can focus on teaching rather than research. For an undergrad, this works to their benefit. Much better to have a prof who cares about teaching. At a large research university, the faculty views teaching as a distraction.[/quote]
Better teaching does make for more satisfied students. In general, I'm not really a big fan of satisfaction when it corresponds to an experience happening in a bubble. What I want to know is- is the teaching at the LACs preparing students well? When career and top PhD/fellowship performances aren't quite as high as they used to be, it makes me wonder not just about the absolute but the relative as well. One thing to note is that universities have taken great strides to offer more LAC like experiences in recent years- smaller courses (see my comment above regarding courses), similar residential experiences, and so forth. LACs haven't been able to provide the university experience.
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This is a comment at large. But one of my friends shared this insight, and it got me wondering. A top LAC may very well be the place where a student is the most comfortable and secure. But is 4 years of that experience worth it compared to attending a top university which may not be the best fit, but can pay lifelong dividends in terms of career and academic connections? Where does one draw the line in thinking about worth? 
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