Are there any downsides to getting a BA degree for a STEM major from a liberal arts college rather than a BS degree from a research university? For example, does a BS in physics look better than a BA in physics when applying to grad school?
I feel like a liberal arts college is right for me in many ways, but I’m a bit worried that I won’t be as competitive for grad school admissions.
Degree title does not matter, except when a school offers both with different course requirements. Note that some research universities like UCB have BA, not BS, degrees in physics.
What matters is the course work and undergraduate research experience and recommendations.
Regarding course work, the main concern with some (not all) LACs is that their physics departments can be too small to offer all of the expected upper level physics courses often enough.
Consider achievements in research combined with mentorship, for which, as an example, a professor at Hamilton (and Williams graduate) was recently recognized by the American Physical Society:
It would be rare to not to be able to complete a physics major, even at a small LAC: the APS has a set of pre-reqs for physics grad programs that are hard-wired into the physics major pretty much everywhere. Where LACs can be limiting is in the breadth of options for more advanced courses.
Collegekid2 was a physics major/math minor at medium level LAC better known as an ‘arty’ sort of school. She did on-campus research the first summer and REUs the next 2 summers and was accepted to all of the top-tier PhD programs she applied to.
She had more coursework to do than some- but not all- of her peers in her PhD program (who came from schools with bigger physics programs) in the first two years, but she has no regrets. She had a wonderful UG experience, taking courses across a range of subjects and enjoying her ECs. From my pov, being a big-ish fish in a smaller pond was really good for her: she absolutely blossomed, made a great group of friends, and left with enough self-confidence to stand tall in her new cohort.
Pomona appears to be another especially appealing LAC for nascent physicists: