<p>I'm not sure I understand the whole "prepared for grad school" argument. If you can succeed at a LAC you will succeed in grad school, if you can succeed in a big stateU, you can succeed in grad school. It takes a certain person to be able to handle college, and if you can handle making it through 4 years and getting accepted into a program then you will not have trouble making it through your grad/professional school of choice. </p>
<p>That being said, if you choose a LAC it just means you want to be in a different environment than someone attending a slightly larger university. You have to go where you think you will thrive, because that is by far what is most important. Underrated/Overrated is simply an argument people make to make themselves feel better, when in the end it doesn't have much relevance.</p>
<p>8/10 people you talk to walking down the street will not have heard of Amherst. So I guess you could say, for as good of a university is, it doesn't have the recognition from the general public like say.. Harvard.</p>
<p>Region highly effects public viewing of a school, take two similar uni's 1 west cost and 1 east coast. The majority on the west coast will say the west coast uni is better than the east coast, and vice versa for the people on the east coast.</p>