It’s pretty easy for a LAC, with no research labs or medical schools to underwrite, to accumulate wealth by essentially sitting on their assets. This is especially true where the college spends almost nothing on financial aid. For years, URichmond had one of the lowest percentage of Pell grant recipients among highly endowed colleges (~5.5%) and didn’t even commit itself to meeting 100% need for ordinary FA recipients until 2002.
http://www.chronicle.com/article/Pell-Grant-Recipients-Are/126892/
Using data from the National Science Foundation, the schools with the highest percentage of graduates who went on to earn a Ph.D in physics are:
Caltech
Reed
Swarthmore
Lawrence U
Carleton
Haverford
Williams
MIT
CO School of Mines
Grinnell
Amherst
Princeton
Wabash
College of Wooster
Gustavus Adolphus
Vassar
Kenyon
Rice
Bryn Mawr
University of Rochester.
UR has been very fortunate to receive very large donations from wealthy alum families (Robins, Jepson, among others). Perhaps they were not reinvesting earnings in the campus and students in the past, but that no longer seems to be the case.
UR actually has very nice, well equipped research labs in its gorgeous Gottwold Sciences building, albeit not on the scale of a larger research university with engineering. Several years ago, they pledged to provide every student with a paid research experience, providing a stipend of $4000.
UR has been investing in new buildings and dorms, renovating old dorms, supporting student programs. It meets 100 % of demonstrated financial need for admitted students, and offers 45 full tuition/full ride scholarships to the incoming freshman class each year, a lot for a school of its size. It has become more diverse (both financially and racially) over the last decade, and recently has pledged to step up those efforts, more info here:
http://spiderpride.richmond.edu/article/-/14423/ur-earns-high-rank-on-new-york-times-affordability-report.html
http://spiderpride.richmond.edu/article/-/14449/president-crutcher-addresses-world-stage.html
42% of admitted students were offered need based aid averaging $45,780 last year. Those numbers will likely continue to rise.
Most recent admitted student profile:
http://admissions.richmond.edu/studentprofile/index.html
Sorry I did not get to comment sooner. The physics and math department/curriculum at Vassar gave S1 and S2 a solid background/preparation to attend and excel at a top engineering graduate school. S1 is now pursuing a second master’s degree and is enjoying his career as an engineer in his chosen discipline. They both had to ‘self study’ for some of the engineering classes but the strong physic/math fundamentals and broad creative mindset that Vassar provided gave them a unique perspective and helped them succeed.
Thank you for your replies everyone. My admissions at both colleges got revoked; for failing to correctly inform either colleges about my decision, and for continuing the admissions process at both colleges. My final decision was to go to Vassar. Does not matter anymore, really.
I will not be going to college this fall. I don’t know if I will find similar opportunities again, but I’ll have to try again for next year. And correct my mistakes.
That’s awful, @2017fromNepal; I’m so sorry!
It really is awful 
left me in a state of shock for a while – still reeling from it but looking forward to a new beginning.