<p>Poeme, good to hear that you are having such a great experience at Penn. But there are many undergrad paths to a physics PhD. My uncle and cousin were/are both physics profs. Guess what? Both recommend LACs for undergrad physics education. We understand (after several posts) that you feel a research university is the best option. And you have repeated your points several times. Heard and understood. For SOME students, the research university may be a better choice. But maybe not for all. </p>
<p>For example, based on your posts I am going to guess you came in with a strong physics coursework background and quite a few AP credits (thus allowing you time in your schedule to take more grad level courses). A student who comes from a high school with less rigorous science & math prep might well get more out of the LAC experience; not everyone is going to exhaust the courses offered – unless, of course, they are a superstar like you. Also, not every student is sharp-elbowed enough to get good research experience at a large university. So the four years at an LAC help them develop skills and confidence to prepare for grad school. Those LAC students also may develop better writing and critical thinking skills than the average research university student does, too. Some LACs (like Harvey Mudd, for example) think those non-science skills are essential – and they have pretty darned good physics PhD production numbers to prove out their approach.</p>
<p>I suspect the adults on this forum can see something you can’t – the course of a career in anything (including physics) is long – spanning at least 40 years. Of course there are routes a student can take that can derail them altogether from a career in physics. But there are also quite a few routes that can lead to successful careers. Also, a lot of students at research universities will NOT achieve PhDs in spite of taking the “best path” according to you – you have no way of knowing whether the LAC environment might have suited those students better, and if they might have had more success with it.</p>