<p>The education is virtually the same, but the experience is slightly different- at liberal art colleges like Pomona and Mudd, you find that the administration and faculty put in their all just for you and no one else. Research options are not taken by graduate students because there are usually none, and faculty teach all classes exclusively (TAs are virtually nonexistent in lectures). Because of the smaller size and intimacy, people genuinely care about your progress and growth- professors and the supportive staff like the Career Development and Fellowship Office. Connections with faculty are easy to build, even with those whom you may have never had a class in. Your peers tend to be a really supportive and nurturing group, and play a pivotal role in shaping your experience in classes and outside of it. LACs tend to have a great residential life model, though some universities like Yale do a similarly excellent job. Large classes are virtually unheard of- the largest at Pomona tends to be PE with 70 students, and it is rare to find an academic course with over 50 students. </p>
<p>The best combination in my opinion is a liberal arts college within a consortium, as they offer the full promise and nurture of a liberal arts education and experience, while also maintaining the benefits and resources of a large university. The Claremont Colleges have over 2500 classes, 250 clubs and organizations, 7 dining halls, and the 3rd largest private library in California, all available jointly for the 5 Claremont Colleges (like Pomona and Mudd). Some other schools have similar consortium systems to mitigate the downsides of being much smaller and exclusively undergraduate focused. That being said, there are a few things that even consortiums can sometimes not change, like being able to take pre-professional or rarely studied courses like nursing and Afrikaans, or being able to work at the most cutting edge, expensive facilities in the country. </p>