<p>Current parent here, with Humanities/Social Science faculty spouse and myself a lawyer so --</p>
<p>For law school, what matters most is gpa and LSAT score. Going to a school where you can be top of the class maximizes chances of admission to T14 law school. So being small fish in a big pond does not help. Also, law school debt is crippling, it is largely all loans at T14 schools so, like med school, very important to go into law school with as little undergrad debt as possible. For that reason, merit aid at next tier of universities and LACs is important to pursue.</p>
<p>For top Ph.D admissions, letters of rec from respected researchers are central in your application (in my husband’s experience). Those are typically found at universities, not LACs. Your LAC prof might know you intimately, but if that prof is not known and respected by the profs on the admissions committee at your preferred university for Ph.D., then it counts less than the rec another student has who worked with a well-known scholar at a large school. </p>
<p>With your career goals in mind, I would suggest serious look at merit aid at schools outside the top 20, both LACs and universities. If you are leaning Ph.D., then a university, with the breadth of undergrad course options, is very important option to consider. </p>