@payn4ward, re: SLACs with STEM:
One factor we looked at was PhD production rates (i.e., percentage of undergraduates who go on to earn a PhD). For a quick sort you can look at [this data](Doctoral Degree Productivity - Institutional Research - Reed College) provided by Reed. You can explore the raw data in depth and over different time periods with [url= <a href=“https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/webcaspar/%5DWebCASPAR%5B/url”>https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/webcaspar/]WebCASPAR[/url].
Using that data, our spreadsheet included an estimate of what percentage of a school’s STEM undergrads went on to earn a STEM doctorate in the last decade. It’s a rough measure in many ways, not least of which: there are many highly successful uses of an undergrad STEM degree that don’t involve getting a PhD. But it does give some indication of the quality of preparation for research and the interest level and drive of the peer group.
Within our list of schools to explore, Reed, Swarthmore, Carleton and Grinnell have outstanding PhD production track records (roughly 30-33% of STEM BA’s go on to earn a PhD). The next tier (within our list) includes Wesleyan, Haverford, Amherst, Williams, and Pomona (20-25% of STEM BA’s go on to earn PhDs).
Note that among the schools named above, Wesleyan and Amherst have a relatively low percentage of students pursuing STEM majors (15-17%). The schools with greater than 25% studying STEM are Carleton, Swarthmore, Haverford, Reed, & Pomona.