Miami, once again, it is great that your D had such a robust experience but it is an absolute exaggeration to state that every college will have quality research opportunities in the sciences. Complete nonsense. There are colleges where “research” amounts to lit searches, with some editing and trimming, to create a review of the work of other teams. I’m not disparaging this- it is great experience, but it is NOT the same preparation for a doctoral program in the sciences vs. a kid who has been actually working alongside scientists who are developing their own hypothesis and them testing them in a lab.
Not the same.
You love to proclaim that any kid can get anywhere from where he or she starts. Which may or may not be true for your D and her friends but is absolutely not true for some colleges. Poorly funded and equipped labs; money spent on fancy athletic stadiums but no investment in faculty; small grants which need to spread out over multiple teams or departments; professors who do not attend the key symposium in his or her field and are not the lead researcher or author on meaningful studies.
We know you are an expert on medical education and becoming an engineer and working in IT. You are NOT an expert in what it takes to get admitted to a doctoral program in the sciences and I think you need to defer to the OP who has already stated his/her credentials here.