<p>My daughter faced a very similar decision from a group of LACs she was accepted to last year - 4 of which are in common with your list. We visited all but one (like 1190, we also owe apologies to Whitman). Northeast, west coast, and midwest - we visited them all. Like you my daughter had always seen herself venturing a ways from home. We live in the Minneapolis area so while she always fond of Carleton it didn’t fulfill her distance expectation.
In the end it was the visits that helped her though the decision process. All were good schools that could meet her academic needs (she was an “undecided” major as well). All had positive features that she liked. The differences were in how she felt she fit in, how she visualized herself living there for 4 years. What sealed the deal for her was her 2 night visit during admitted students week at Carleton. She felt that she just more easily clicked with the students there, had interesting conversations with lots of laughter, and appreciated the non-judgmental culture. She decided maybe the distance wasn’t so much a factor if she didn’t make it one… she wouldn’t be coming home that much anyway.
She is a freshman at Carleton this year and very happy. Being in a “comfortable” environment really helped her during those transition bumps that inevitably occur during freshman year. She will be coming home this weekend for Easter and bringing two other Carls with her. This will be just her 3rd time at home ( counting breaks ) since we dropped her off in the fall.
I hope your visits are productive. You have 6 great schools to choose from. Based on my daughters experience I suggest you pay attention to the gut feel you get from each school. The fact that you “really like” the midwest schools is telling. Good luck with your decision.</p>