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<p>Barrons, with all due respect, you should not attack ME for drawing false conclusions. In addition, your argument of “But to imply that anyone pondering going through to a PhD will be worse off going to UCB over a LAC is just wrong” is simply misleading --again.</p>
<p>For the record, I think we should compare the number of times you have openly dismissed the value of LACs and opined that they are some kind of second-class providers of education (with various degrees of subtility) to the number of times I have offered a negative opinion of Berkeley or UW-Madison. </p>
<p>Here’s the first reality: </p>
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<li><p>YOU do really believe that a school such as Berkeley or your own UW-Madison DOES provide a better avenue for education BECAUSE of their access to large labs, mega-dollars funding, and the presence of professors who are amazing researchers and writers.</p></li>
<li><p>YOU do not believe that LACs can match the large research universities.</p></li>
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<p>Here’s the second reality:</p>
<p>Some people on this board feel a compelling need to almost constantly prop the value of public schools. How many threads have we had to read about Berkeley this or that, or Berkeley versus the world? How they are screwed here or there? How underrated they are by USNews? And then there are the listings such as the OP of this thread which started with: </p>
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<p>And, fwiw, there is a difference between us. I have been more than willing to give Berkeley and other large public schools their just desserts. Check what I have written about their graduate schools and the infamous rankings or prestige listings. On the other hand, you seem to believe that LAC’s are some weird combination of a finishing school and a community college, or even worse. At best, you’d say … Oh yeah, you can do that at a LAC, but … but …!</p>