Comment by eitally

The issue I have with the sciences is that most of those best-in-field professors are really best-in-field at research, not instruction, so if you want to get the best science instruction you don't necessarily go to their schools. I know that, for example, my wife received a better, more personalized education at her small women's liberal arts school than I received at my largish, elite-ish university where most of my courses were taught by TAs as I sat next to hundreds of clones of myself. My wife regularly had classes with 10-20 people (sometimes fewer), and professors who were there because they loved teaching.

Totally different type of education, but the ultimate outcomes were roughly equivalent. We both went on to grad school (at top state universities) and both have done very well in our careers -- me in tech, her in pharma.