<p>I agree with Jingle here about large vs. small schools. As a professor, my experience has been that despite class size in a research university, few students come to see us and get involved in research (sure they come to office hours for help but not to discuss PhD plans or get involved in research). With a bit of initiative, a talented student at a large research university can easily get to know and work with most faculty (heck even my highschooler has gotten mentors on her own from a large research uni!). In a smaller LAC, I think the competition for such attention might actually be harder with many more students desiring high-touch and more likely to be seeking out the professors with a PhD in mind.</p>