<p>blossom, the question you pose is excellent. Williams and Amherst are great feeders to all kinds of schools (professional, graduate). I think a student with an intense interest in one subject would likely run out of courses to take, although the Amherst student could take graduate courses at UMass Amherst. But, let’s not worry about the PhD bound students who have been the source of discussion. For the normal, non-PhD bound student, schools of that caliber are going to be great. Close professor contact, generally good teaching, strong community spirit, tons of resources/capita.</p>
<p>If instead, you drop a tier or two to schools without the same resources or student bodies (as examples, you suggest Colby, Sweet Briar, Russel Sage, Manhattanville or Ithaca), would students at such schools regret their choice relative to, I guess, the larger schools to which they were admitted? Would their employment or grad school prospects be diminished? I’m guessing that they would still have very good academic experiences – professors who are really interested in teaching likely teach there. Research opportunities would be weaker (I know mini will disagree, but I’m unpersuaded). But, would going to such an LAC hurt on grad school or employment fronts?</p>