<p>I went to a top-10 LAC and then to Harvard for law school, and I cross-registered for an undergrad class at Harvard that was in the same field as my major at the LAC, so I can directly compare the two at least somewhat, having taken classes in the same area and at the same level at both institutions.</p>
<p>At Harvard, the professor had a better pedigree and the students were sharper.</p>
<p>The main difference was as set forth in a prior post:</p>
<p>“the overall experience, not specifically the classroom experience. You go there because you can, because of the great FA, because of the opportunities, because you’ll be surrounded by a greater density of amazing people for four years than you will be at any other time in your life.”</p>
<p>Was the Harvard class harder? Not necessarily (but I had already completed a major in the same field). Did I learn more? Not necessarily. But in my Harvard class, I was surrounded by sharper people who had higher expectations of themselves, and higher goals in life, than at my LAC. That counts for a lot.</p>