<p>Recently a guy in one of the threads wrote that Universities (Cornell, specifically) are REAL Universities, and that LACs (Williams) are not, and that this is the reason that thousands more apply to Universities than LAC. He went on to say that REAL universities are A LOT more prestigious than LACs. I am from Mexico, where there are no LACs, and so I don't know if what this person was saying is considered generally to be true, although it sounded like nonsense. Could someone comment on this?</p>
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It’s an interesting question, because there’s no fine line. Some LACs have PhD programs (Bryn Mawr), and some have law schools (Washington & Lee). Some LACs are more pre-professional (Claremont McKenna) than some universities (Chicago). Some LACs offer engineering (Bucknell) and business (Skidmore). </p>
<p>The most you can generalize is that LACs are usually relatively small (1000-2500 students) and consist almost entirely of undergraduate students.</p>
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This is true.</p>
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This is false.</p>
<p>Because they’re larger (and often have prominent athletic programs) the top universities are better known than all but a couple LACs. But Williams is quite possibly the finest college in America. Your next door neighbor may not know Williams, but graduate schools and employers would all know it and consider it to be as elite as any school in the world.</p>
<p>Yes, that was kind of what I was thinking. The guy didn’t seem to care what kind of an education he got, as long as his next door neighbor was impressed.</p>