Reply to Science at Liberal Arts Colleges: A Better Education?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If you come out with a STEM degree at a school like UC Berkeley, that is incredibly impressive. Much more so than Middlebury or Colby or Swarthmore. UC Berkeley STEM is cutthroat and hard as hell. [/quote]

Sounds like you are describing a tour in a combat zone.

Not everyone's dream for their kid's undergrad experience.

But hey, it is what impresses you. [/quote]

I went to a SLAC. I don’t think I could make it in STEM at UC Berkeley personally. Maybe I could but I doubt I would stand out like I did at my SLAC. But heck ya, those Berkeley kids are impressive. Ask any STEM university professor and they would say the same thing.[/quote]
 :roll: 
I went to a SLAC too.  I got into the Chemistry PhD program at Berkeley.  I didn't go, both went to a top social science PhD program instead.  I'm sure I would have fine at Berkeley as well.  I did get to TA in Chemistry at the other school and the kids in my section did much better than those in other sections.  I think this was because I learned to teach better at the SLAC and English was actually my first language.[/quote]

Who applies to both Chemistry and Social Science PhD programs? That is very strange.[/quote]

Why?  Are the skill sets really that different?  Both require a logical, mathematical thought processes, although social sciences require more sophisticated data analysis.  Both essentially examine simplifying models of how things work.  I just find the social science more interesting.
No, I did not go to Swarthmore.
After taking and teaching classes at both large and small elite schools, I don't see why anyone would be more intimidated by undergraduate students at large schools over small.  The sophistication of the facilities will not affect the development of the thought processes behind experiments.[/quote]

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