<p>Ok, this may be a bit of a stupid question and even stupider because it could give me more options (I think I have too many as it is), but are there any research universities which have a LAC style environment for students to thrive in? I am really drawn to LACs because of their Student/teacher ratio, their care/preference to undergrads, and then usually the class/curriculum and the general "academic broadening" teachings.</p>
<p>Right now I'm looking at Bowdoin, Amherst, Pomona, CMC, Davidson, Colby, Washington and Lee, Williams, Grinnel, and Middlebury. </p>
<p>I definetly want to go into business if that helps.</p>
<p>Princeton is like that in a lot of ways, but with every university you’re going to get less teacher-student interaction and larger classes. I have the same exact convictions as you do: what I’ve decided is to go to a LAC for undergrad and a larger university for grad, so I can get the best of both worlds. Essentially, the LACs are devoted to their small student body and the universities care about the grads. That way, you’ll be guaranteed a great education and unwavering funding and attention throughout college.</p>
<p>The University of Chicago.</p>
<p>72% of classes have fewer than 20 students, about the same as Pomona (or slightly more than Middlebury and Davidson). Only 4% have greater than 50 students, one of the smallest percentages of any national university, and about the same percentage as Williams or Middlebury.</p>
<p>(see post #2 at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/708190-avg-class-size.html?highlight=class+size[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/708190-avg-class-size.html?highlight=class+size</a>)</p>
<p>Chicago is definitely a world-class research university, though. This cuts both ways. The good news is, you have a good shot at getting classes with leading scholars. You have a much richer variety of classes than you’d get at a LAC. The not-so-good news (for some) is that you’ll get less hand-holding than at a LAC. Professors will be tend to be somewhat more focused on their research.</p>
<p>The campus does offer residential house-style dormitories, with maybe 20 students per floor as I recall. 4,825 undergraduates, more than a LAC but smaller than most research universities.</p>
<p>The curriculum is strictly focused on the liberal arts as a matter of principle. You’d choose a major such as English, physics, or art history (or an interdisciplinary program) if you are interested in journalism, engineering, or architecture, respectively. All students must satisfy “Common Core” requirements (courses in each of the major divisions of knowledge). Classes tend to be discussion based and focused on primary source materials (“Great Books”, historic documents, specimens or artifacts).</p>
<p>Chicago has a fabulous graduate business school and is famous for its economics department. Both are generally considered among the top 3-5 in the country, if not #1. The university is one of the country’s major centers of data-driven social science research.</p>
<p>Since you’re looking at Middlebury, Amherst, and others in the NorthEast, I’m surprised Dartmouth hasn’t made your list. Very LAC-like, with tremendous focus on undergrads, and lots of research opportunities.</p>
<p>I think what the second poster is doing is a good idea.</p>
<p>What about Brown?</p>
<p>Colgate–a little bigger than the other LAC’s (@3,000), but with much more of a university feel–terrific, beautiful, new science facilities. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but those who like it just love it!</p>
<p>Brandeis comes to mind</p>
<p>smaller universities like Brown, Dartmouth, Rochester, Tufts, Brandeis, Rice</p>
<p>Emory – medium-sized, liberal arts college and biz school.</p>
<p>Ditto Wake Forest, even smaller.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure Clark University in Mass. is the smallest research university in the country.</p>
<p>When I was going to Boston College I never felt like the grad students overshadowed the undergrads. The BC Law School is on a separate campus about a mile away, so that’s about 1000 students, faculty, and staff you’ll never even see on the main campus.</p>
<p>Also check out Lehigh, Notre Dame, and Fordham.</p>
<p>Look at William & Mary along with Rice and Wake Forest. Also Claremont Consortium is the perfect balance.</p>
<p>Wow, these are really good ideas: I’d forgotten there were so many universities like this! However, some of these statistics can be deceiving. Even at Bowdoin, the Organic Chemistry class is about 50 students- pretty much their only huge class, because everyone takes it. So 4-7% classes above 50 students might mean that all the really popular (orgo, bio, English 100 level) classes will be huge. However, the listed universities are some great options to check out! If you go directly to their boards or look them up individually, find out what the students think.</p>