I went to a small, well regarded liberal arts college in the Midwest. The science programs provided a lot of direct interaction with professors as well as copious lab time, projects, summer internships. Lab equipment was extensive; as it was (sometimes too frequently) put, undergrads received training on and regularly used equipment that elsewhere you might not "get to touch" until in a grad program.
It helped that the school was quite well funded/endowed. Some big name alumni had not just or even primarily given them money, but had as much or more so given them investment advice and opportunities that paid off many fold.
This is an attraction of a small (often private) college. But you have to pick carefully and ascertain that the reality there lives up to the rhetoric.
I'm not particularly pitching for this route as an education. Rather, providing a specific example, as requested by the parent.
P.S. Tuition was not as high as some schools, but it wasn't cheap. However, a majority of the population received aid (often significant) of one sort or another. If you experience "sticker shock" when shopping around, realize this and, if a school interests you, apply and see what happens. (Although it's been some time since I was there, and education costs as a percentage of income seem to have grown more and more out of scale, in general.)
Also, while that college had many excellent areas and faculty, they also had their not so good areas and some particular lemons. You can't just look things on a school level; you need to consider particular programs and departments, where you have strong interests. At the same time, often part of the liberal arts experience is figuring out just what major you actually want to pursue, so don't feel certain that your interests going in are going to remain constant.
Finally, I should mention that the college paid fairly well and was in an area with low living costs and good schools for faculty children. Faculty also had decent resources and the ability to take leave to pursue personal work/research. Thus, it was able to attract good faculty. Further, they knew coming in that the institution's primary focus is education, not research. Your research need not suffer (then again, maybe many faculty were not of the most highly obsessed research-centered nature that also produces some "super stars"), but you were there first and foremost to educate.
It helped that the school was quite well funded/endowed. Some big name alumni had not just or even primarily given them money, but had as much or more so given them investment advice and opportunities that paid off many fold.
This is an attraction of a small (often private) college. But you have to pick carefully and ascertain that the reality there lives up to the rhetoric.
I'm not particularly pitching for this route as an education. Rather, providing a specific example, as requested by the parent.
P.S. Tuition was not as high as some schools, but it wasn't cheap. However, a majority of the population received aid (often significant) of one sort or another. If you experience "sticker shock" when shopping around, realize this and, if a school interests you, apply and see what happens. (Although it's been some time since I was there, and education costs as a percentage of income seem to have grown more and more out of scale, in general.)
Also, while that college had many excellent areas and faculty, they also had their not so good areas and some particular lemons. You can't just look things on a school level; you need to consider particular programs and departments, where you have strong interests. At the same time, often part of the liberal arts experience is figuring out just what major you actually want to pursue, so don't feel certain that your interests going in are going to remain constant.
Finally, I should mention that the college paid fairly well and was in an area with low living costs and good schools for faculty children. Faculty also had decent resources and the ability to take leave to pursue personal work/research. Thus, it was able to attract good faculty. Further, they knew coming in that the institution's primary focus is education, not research. Your research need not suffer (then again, maybe many faculty were not of the most highly obsessed research-centered nature that also produces some "super stars"), but you were there first and foremost to educate.