<p>Well Monydad, that’s why some of the smaller schools are different. At Caltech and MIT, a very large fraction (often the majority) of students get involved in research with faculty in their undergrad years. The percentages are somewhat lower for other schools, but at some of the elites (and some LACs) the percentages are much better than even some of the best state schools. If this Nobel prize thread has any relevance, it’s to those students most likely to want to do research and get involved with faculty as undergraduates. Otherwise, yeah, taking a class from a Nobel laureate or other bigshot is just bragging rights.</p>