<p>For what it’s worth, I think it is generally a bad idea to get your PhD at the same place you studied as an undergrad. You’ll learn a lot more being exposed to new professors and new ideas. At least that was the experience of my friends. This is probably more true in the humanities than the sciences however. That said, my husband got his PhD in biology at Caltech. I don’t think a single person in his cohort was an undergrad there. There was a mix of students who had studied at LACs and universities (both public and private.)</p>