I have not been to Carleton but have been to Pomona and Kenyon and Macalester. I know people say Mac is in a suburb of St Paul, but it really felt like a somewhat upscale urban midtown area with both residences and retail. Did not feel like a suburb (but maybe my definition of suburb is wrong!). Claremont felt more like a suburb to me. The kids at Mac were walking all along the surrounding roads that featured cafes, shops, etc. Son loved that he could step 20’ from his dorm and find himself in a cute local coffee shop or a Patagonia or a used record store. If anything it maybe felt more like Occidental (if you’ve been there) bc you could easily access everything without transportation. Kenyon was the exact opposite. Gorgeous campus but extremely remote. We stayed in the next town over (Mt Vernon) and couldn’t find a restaurant open on a Sunday night. Gambier had one restaurant option the next day (Monday). I think it really depends on the sort of experience your kid wants. My kid thought Kenyon was idyllic, but he preferred the energy of the Mac campus.