<p>I perfectly agree that Caltech doesn't exactly fit into the LAC category, and if I really had my way, I would choose to call it a "research-LAC" (which you can interpret however you want), or maybe Alexandre's moniker of "quasi-LAC". </p>
<p>However, my point is, if I was forced to choose one of the existing categories, I would prefer to put it into the LAC category. Not that it fits great there, because it doesn't, but because I don't think it fits well in the research university category either. Simply put - I believe the education you would receive at Caltech is more similar to what you would get at a place like Williams than a place like Michigan or Illinois. </p>
<p>Furthermore, about the well-roundedness comment, I would say that if a pure tech school like HarveyMudd can be considered a LAC, then so can Caltech. In fact, I think that Mudd illustrates my point better. I think we can all argee that the education you would get at Caltech is far more similar to what you would get at Mudd than you would get at Michigan or Illinois.</p>