OP wants to participate in research.
OP’s options are by 2017 R&D expenditures:
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Michigan–$1,530,000,000
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UPenn–$1,374,000,000
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UNC–$1,102,000,000
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USC–$764,000,000
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Emory–$664,000,000
LAC: Amherst College–$4,070,000
LAC: Swarthmore College–$3,569,000
Even the “LAC-like teaching focus on undergraduate students” Ivies–Dartmouth College & Princeton University–have massive R&D expenditures compared to any LAC.