I had two kids who went to medium sized research universities. They were very, very different - and not just because one majored in International Relations and the other in Comp Sci. There were things related to how the departments were set up, how many people go abroad, gen ed requirements, the kind of students attracted to each place. They both offered what my kids thought they were looking for, though I think the IR kid might go elsewhere if he had to do it again. (Not that he hated his school by any means.)