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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Look, LACs even do well against private research universities if you look at the report.  I don't think income is the issue.  (And a number of public schools like Michigan and UVA have pretty high income levels if you believe the data, but they are not ranked particularly high for STEM PHD production per capita.  They are well behind Berkeley and William & Mary).  Plus, PHDs are typically funded by fellowships and/or working as a teaching or research assistant.   I think the only point people should take away here is that you can certainly prepare yourself to get a STEM PHD after graduating from an LAC.  The data shows that.  This doesn't mean you can't get a STEM PHD after going to a research university (public or private).

For some reason, some have a perception that you have to go to a research university to get a STEM PHD.  That is just false.  I saw someone arguing on another board that you can't go to medical school if you don't go to a university with a medical school and medical center.  This is also ridiculous.  It would mean, among other things, that Princeton is no longer capable of producing future doctors.   [/quote]
We get it -- you like liberal arts colleges.  A lot.  Are you going to let your kids make their own decisions?
[/quote]
I'm thinking this might be a different PP than the other LAC booster on this thread. This poster seems much more reasonable.

It's actually really surprising to me that people have the perception that a well-regarded LAC limits your opportunities for advanced degrees (graduate or professional schools). But once it's pointed out, it makes sense why some people might think that even though it's not based in reality.[/quote]
It makes sense that most of the cutting edge research would occur in big universities with big departments and lots of labs etc. but I am not sure if that is what you have to do as an undergraduate in order to get into a top Ph.D STEM program unless things have changed considerably in the last 5 years or so.
We toured Bryn Mawr recently and the department and labs seemed small and it sounds like they have around 20 students do research during the academic year and a dozen doing research during the summer so I think you have to be highly motivated to get an opportunity to do research.
Still, they are ranked pretty high (in the top 20) in the NSF study so I am hoping I am missing something since my kid is very keen[/quote]

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