<p>Right, Vossron brings up a very good point. Well, as I am claiming that one should look into what works best for one’s own personal tastes, I should qualify what it is that I think could appeal to students from both sides.</p>
<p>Small schools with high number of students going on to get a PhD: Professors may be paid specifically to be great at prepping students for a PhD, or otherwise academically; probably characteristic of professors to mentor undergraduates in research more closely. Untrue, probably, in the case of Caltech, which is in some ways in my eyes a small school only in size, and has the features of a large research school in many other ways (grad students around, professors chosen primarily to research) – please, Caltech students, call me out if this isn’t accurate of course. Anyway, another positive – possibly like-minded students’ company can be a huge motivating factor. </p>
<p>Large school that is otherwise very reputed: Usually offers many more courses, often may be in fact more of a graduate school than an undergraduate school, which means undergraduates who’re fine basking in on the high-profile research atmosphere on the sidelines and learning from the graduate students and the professors are likely to absorb a lot. Big school atmosphere can be positive, just for those who feel otherwise claustrophobic. Usually only for heavily independent-minded PhD-seekers, however. For those who like the idea of socializing with a wide array of people (academic, less academic and more professional, this and that), but are good at finding a small percentage of the relatively large undergraduate population which likes to think about the same things they do. For those who don’t mind if professors are usually star researchers, but not necessarily the absolute most gifted lecturers, and for those who’ll go find some of the good lecturers and take classes from them.</p>