When I visited LACs with my D we felt that each had a distinct personality—some schools just felt right and others (including colleges that sounded great on paper) were summarily dismissed from consideration. I would make every effort to visit Middlebury if considering ED.
I will say that one difference (other than the obvious size, location) is the fact that BC likely has an extensive core curriculum that is typical of Jesuit universities. I would have the student look at the core and consider how it would work for him. FWIW my S went to a different Jesuit college and the core was a net positive for him (providing him a well rounded humanities education as a business major) while my D had specific interests outside of her major that she hoped to (and did) pursue in college and felt a large core would be too restrictive.