<p>Well in my previous responses I assume I did not consider the impact of a student’s previous background.
I agree the LAC environment would probably be suited for someone who comes from a smaller or less rigorous high school as they may not have developed the necessary skills for success in high school. People like this will usually get lost at a larger university even if they do have the potential to be very successful. I know several cases like this at Penn. Many of these people feel like they were at a disadvantage because they were unsure of how to deal with professors and did not know how to adjust to the fast past of college. Perhaps these students would have benefitted from smaller class sizes and would have felt more comfortable interacting with professors in a smaller environment.</p>
<p>However, for the very independent student (which may not be as common as I believe), this is definitely not as necessary. I went to an extremely competitive high school in the state with over 4,000 students. If you did not advocate for yourself, you would get lost. I did not feel like most of my high school teachers knew me all that well or were particularly invested in me as a student and I have actually had a significantly easier time interacting with professors than I did with my teachers in high school. So this has definitely colored my educational experience and made it an easier transition to college.</p>