<p>Are the opportunities more or less the same in all colleges (research universities vs LACs)? And when I talk about research, I mean actually working to solve a problem, not just cleaning the beakers or something. Does the equipment available to me vary greatly between LACs and research universities?Is it more likely to be able to publish at a LAC or research university? And I'm planning on going into biochem.</p>
<p>A lot more likely in large research universities, namely with professors who are well-known in their respective fields.</p>
<p>Research opps in LACs and BRU (big research universities) are not going to be the same. In my biased opinion and experience (I went to a LAC, did research at a BRU) - there are pros and cons to each type of institution. At a true LAC, there are only undergrads (LACs are by definition, only UG colleges), so undergrads are the focus. Labs will be smaller, less likely to be run by “big shot” names doing front cover research (interesting questions nonetheless), but all the research opportunities in the lab are meant for you, the UG, and without grad students and post docs to compete with, you have a better chance being a more integral part of the lab. The lab will likely be more about teaching you how to research than publishing big-impact papers (however you might get be a first author on a paper…). LAC profs are there to primarily teach UGs - of course they have research obligations too, but I would say teaching is more of the focus. At a BRU, you might find profs that research first and also have teaching obligations. (Of course you can find exceptions to any generalization). At a BRU - you are more likely to find PIs that are famous, big award/prize winners, lots of money, etc. -but this doesn’t necessarily mean a “better” research education and experience. At a BRU, you are more likely to see what a “working” lab (aka, people who work, as their job, in the lab) than a LAC. In terms of equipment, both a LAC and BRU will have all the basics in terms of bench top machines, reagents, variety of microscopes and whatnot - and some LACs will have impressive science equipment (they will receive large NSF, NIH, HHMI, etc. grants to purchase wizbang equipment), but might not have something like a DNA sequencing core that a BRU could support (you might send things out to larger places as it doesn’t make sense for a small college to have some things). You most likely won’t be limited by a LAC in terms of facilities.</p>
<p>There are pros and cons to each. I go to an LAC and have done research at a big university.</p>
<p>At the big research universities, there are more positions and much better equipment available to you. Also, the PI you work with is more likely to have an impact in their field. But there are also many more people competing for research spots. I got my summer position by applying for an RUI program, and the other undergraduate in my lab was there because she was the best in her probably 300-person chemistry class. When I got there, I mostly worked with a graduate student, though I did speak with the PI once a week or so. It was a great experience to see how research is done at such a big institution and my PI is going to write me a (hopefully good) letter for graduate school, but I don’t feel as though we got to know each other as well as I would have liked.</p>
<p>I honestly have had an overall better experience at my LAC. There are only ~15 chemistry majors a year and there are 5 different labs. I got my position by e-mailing the professor and asking if there were any openings in his lab because I was interested in his subfield. We met and talked about the project, and I was in. He’d just come back from sabbatical, so I was the only student in the lab. I was basically treated like a graduate student (with a little extra guidance). I designed and carried out the methodology, and we’ve submitted the work I did over the last year to the major ACS journal in the subfield. I’m second author (to the PI). I liked being able to contribute so much to the project and work so closely with the PI; he knows me really well now, and though he’s not a superstar in the field, he does respected work and he’ll write me an excellent letter. The lack of equipment did hold us back some, but we were able to use time at the nearby large research university to get what we needed. A friend in another lab has also just published in another major ACS journal as the second author to her PI. I’d say 90% of the chemistry majors at my school do at least one summer of research, and the ones who are serious about grad school do more.</p>
<p>So for me, I liked that I spent a summer at a research university to get that experience, but I really prefer being in my small lab with the freedom to do more. That’s not to say every LAC will have such good opportunities or that they will be right for you, but I think a lot of times the LAC research experiences are underrated.</p>
<p>If you attend a BRU that emphasizes undergraduate research, then you don’t sacrifice better facilities, easier-to-find positions, exposure to high-impact researchers, etc. for less competition for positions, more interaction with professors, more independence in carrying out research, etc.</p>
<p>Thanks LAC operon and luce373, those were very informative posts. I think that I am leaning towards a LAC. Do you guys have any suggestions?</p>
<p>kryptonsa36, which BRUs emphasize undergraduate research?</p>
<p>MIT and Caltech are probably the best-known examples. You’re looking for any school with an extensive, established program for providing research opportunities and funding students’ research projects. Some other schools that come to mind include UMich and UC-Irvine.</p>
<p>Really, UC Irvine? What about the other UCs, Berkeley, LA, SD, Davis?</p>
<p>I’m really only familiar with my particular school (Macalester), which has pretty active science research programs. Some labs are more focused on teaching you how to do research, mine is more focused on publications (with teaching along the way). Almost every science professor leads students in research over the summer and, depending on the lab, during the school year. This is true outside of the chemistry department as well.</p>
<p>I’m going into my senior year already, so I don’t remember specifics about research programs at other schools I applied to. I do know that Reed, Oberlin, and Carleton (others I were considering) have high graduate school placement percentages. If they’re sending people to grad school in the sciences, they have research opportunities (whether on or off campus).</p>
<p>But I’m biased towards LACs because I’ve had such a good experience overall at mine. I also applied to some larger research schools, and like kryptonsa36 said, many of them do place a strong emphasis on undergraduate teaching and research. It really depends on which type of institution you think you’d prefer.</p>
<p>There’s research opportunity, and then there’s research requirement, i.e., you can seek out schools (whether BRU or LAC) that require all seniors to write a research thesis. Our D1’s school has such a requirement, where research is often in conjunction with the thesis advisor’s research, with publishing credit given. Grads of such schools can have an advantage, because they have already shown grad schools that they know how to do research.</p>
<p>I’m strongly considering Reed right now. I did a lot of research and it seems like a great place to be at.</p>
<p>The schools that require seniors to write a research thesis sounds like a great idea.</p>