<p>I would like a link or citation to any source that says doing an internship, studying abroad, etc. boosts LSAT scores.</p>
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<p>Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick T. Terenzini, “How College Affects Students, Volume 2: A Third Decade of Research.” San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005, p. 78:</p>
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<p>In reply to posts 26 and 27 many years ago I had a professor for an Urban Planning course. He taught the same course at Princeton and Trenton State College. He said the course was exactly the same at both schools and while there would likely be more students receiving an A at Princeton if you received an A while taking the class at Trenton it would be an A anywhere.</p>
<p>I suspect that since so many colleges are relatively close there are many professors that teach at schools near each other that are worlds apart in the perception of the academics. I wonder how most professors handle the difference.</p>
<p>I agree the classroom participation is different.
I was talking to a prof who taught the same class at Amherst and at UMass- Amherst and said that the students at UMass were more creative in their thinking and more likely to ask a question even if they didnt know the answer.</p>
<p>Professors care just as much about their students at the large research U’s. Students need to have some qualities they may not need to at small schools where they are given a hand holding experience. Which is better? Depends on the student. I go with the larger range of classes and experiences available at the RU, but then, our family is independent and learns how to take advantage of things without hand holding. I get tired of hearing how wonderful LACs are compared to RU’s. All I see is the lack of opportunities for people like us. A science student at an RU can take in depth courses in the humanities but I don’t see where most LACs offer in depth science courses for those in the humanities.</p>
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<p>Opinions differ:</p>
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<p>[Three</a> tips from The Thinking Student’s Guide to College: 75 Tips for Getting a Better Education by Andrew Roberts](<a href=“Three tips from The Thinking Student's Guide to College: 75 Tips for Getting a Better Education by Andrew Roberts”>Three tips from The Thinking Student's Guide to College: 75 Tips for Getting a Better Education by Andrew Roberts)</p>
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<p>Perhaps you don’t see because you haven’t looked very hard? For example:</p>
<p>100-level biology courses: 7
200-level biology courses: 17
300-level biology courses: 12
[Gettysburg</a> College - Courses](<a href=“http://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/biology/courses/]Gettysburg”>http://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/biology/courses/)</p>
<p>100-level physics courses: 9
200-level physics courses: 3
300-level physics courses: 10
[Gettysburg</a> College - Courses](<a href=“http://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/physics/courses/]Gettysburg”>http://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/physics/courses/)</p>
<p>100-level chemistry courses: 3
200-level chemistry courses: 5
300-level chemistry courses: 8
[Gettysburg</a> College - Courses](<a href=“http://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/chemistry/courses/]Gettysburg”>http://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/chemistry/courses/)</p>
<p>Plus in all cases, many 400-level research and individualized study offerings for majors.</p>
<p>So how many in-depth science courses does the average humanities major need?</p>
<p>Can you find LACs with minimal science offerings? Surely. Do large research universities have more options? Surely. But to claim that “most LACs offer in depth science courses for those in the humanities” is not supported by the facts.</p>
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<p>To be fair, there are some LACs which do offer enough science courses for students majoring in those subjects to take the complete set of upper division courses which is generally expected for those majoring in those subjects. But there are others where (for example) a math, physics, or computer science major may not be able to take some of what are ordinarily considered “core” upper division courses in his/her major, so a student looking for a LAC needs to choose carefully.</p>
<p>This also goes for humanities and social studies majors; some LACs are rather limited in those subjects as well (and not just at Harvey Mudd, where majors in humanities and social studies are not even offered). Foreign languages and literatures are commonly limited; some LACs also have limited offerings in some other humanities and social studies majors.</p>
<p>On the other hand, relatively few humanities and social studies students want to take math and science courses more advanced than freshman level courses for non-majors. This is in contrast to math and science students who often do willingly take upper division humanities and social studies courses. A humanities and social studies focused school (LAC or otherwise) likely has little or no real student demand for upper division math and science courses. One can discuss whether the humanities and social studies majors typically get a less well rounded liberal arts education than math and science majors, though this is not so much the point of this thread.</p>
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<p>In California, many community colleges model their courses on the same courses at a nearby UC or CSU. At least in theory, the student at the community college is learning the same thing as the freshman or sophomore at the UC or CSU. And that is likely true enough since community college transfers are generally successful at UC or CSU.</p>
<p>However, it is worth noting that the more selective universities sometimes pack more course material into a smaller number of courses or credit units’ worth of courses (e.g. freshman and sophomore physics content in a three semester sequence instead of a four semester sequence). Community colleges modeling the more selective universities do likewise compared to other community colleges, so students at those other community colleges may have to take more courses or credit units’ worth of courses to prepare for transfer to the more selective universities.</p>
<p>Also, it may be less difficult to get A grades in community college than at UC, since digging around the [University</a> of California: StatFinder](<a href=“http://statfinder.ucop.edu%5DUniversity”>http://statfinder.ucop.edu) indicates that the very top community college transfers (e.g. 3.9 GPA at community college) do somewhat less well GPA-wise at places like Berkeley (but still well, like 3.5 GPA at Berkeley after transfer), even though upper division GPAs for students who entered as freshmen are usually higher than lower division GPAs.</p>
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<p>I attended a RU and I work at one, and I can tell you that has not been my experience.</p>
<p>It’s not that professors at RUs are bad people, they are simply not motivated by the system to prioritize undergraduate teaching. A professor at a RU who brings in lots of research dollars, supports a large cadre of grad students, and is a terrible undergrad teacher can nevertheless have a gloriously successful career at an RU, whereas a professor who puts everything into undergrad teaching and struggles to bring in research grants and fund grad students will be lucky to keep his job.</p>