The main advantage of LAC’s is the focus on undergraduate education. The professors are there because they love to teach. There are no graduate students to compete with, and undergraduates are not a nuisance. I went to a faculty panel on Admitted Students Day at Pomona and one of the professors said their motto is not “Publish or Perish” but rather “Cherish or Perish.” Read this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/l-jay-lemons/the-gold-standard-the-powerful-impact-of-residential_b_4633443.html