A word I would associate with all three of the LACs you mentioned is “academicky”. Which is not a real word, I think in fact I might have made it up myself, but it is very handy in cases like this.
Then both Swarthmore and Reed probably need something like “hard-working” or similar attached, and Pomona . . . well, something a bit different. Not that kids don’t work hard at Pomona too, but my impression is it is more in the culture at those two LACs, similar say to Chicago for universities, whereas the vibe at Pomona is more . . . relatively chill? Something like that.
Then all three would need a word for setting, but I am not sure what would be best to use. Maybe just the city name and take it from there.
Sometimes! I think there can be a lot of common touch points in terms of general academic qualifications, also sometimes specific talents and such (including athletics). But LACs can sometimes be maybe a little more nichey in terms of exactly what sort of community they want to build.
So if you look at all sorts of placement statistics adjusted for student population size, you will see various LACs repeatedly doing very well, including in comparison to various Ivies and such. They have different areas of strength and just student interest, so a given LAC’s ranking in such studies may vary depending on the field/industry. But generally I think it is true that if you adjusted for not just student population overall but level of student interest, the “top” LACs tend to support competitive next step placements across a wide variety of fields in the same way as the “top” universities.
Of course I am using the word “support” carefully. The truth is we know so much of that is actually driven by individual and sometimes family attributes. The degree to which a college is actually adding value, as opposed to merely being a place a lot of such students from such families like to go, is very hard to sort out. So while it is nice to know that if everything lines up for you individually, your college will do a good job supporting your ambitions as well, I think that effect is far less critical, and indeed far less rare, than some believe.
I think the first question is what does the cost difference actually mean in the context of that family’s financial situation? For some families, that would not be a big deal, as they could just adjust some other plans and cover the difference out of existing savings and/or cash flow during college. For other families, it would mean having to take out a lot more student loan debt. And everything in between.
And I personally think it is not such a good idea to take out student loans beyond, say, the federal limits. I just think the need to service that debt can end up limiting your options at critical junctures in ways best avoided.
But if you can comfortably afford the difference without too much extra debt, then I think it becomes a matter of personal choice. I do think if you believe you would personally thrive a lot more in an LAC setting, you should seriously consider that, as again how you do in college can matter a lot. But if you are comfortable with the idea of working hard to get really good results at your state option, including both grades and networking with faculty and such, then that is fine too.