<p>I think the most obvious comparison we can make between research and LACs is by size. It depends largely on the individual school, but some of the LACs are absolutely tiny. Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Harvey Mudd, Grinell, Scripps, Pitzer, and Claremont McKenna come to mind which all have less than 1700 students. There are larger ones like Middlebury, Smith, Colgate, and Wesleyan. But that’s a huge difference from even the smallest research universities (except for Caltech that I know of). I don’t think I would like to spend four years like that, but I imagine it could be nice for a bit. Some people might actually really like that experience.</p>