Two of my lads chose LACs and loved them. The other chose a medium sized research U and loved it. All three knew which they wanted by visiting and what felt like “home” to them.
All three are doing just fine as graduates and none have regrets about their choices. All three knew their professors well and occasionally went to their houses or met at the dining hall with them. All three were involved on campus doing things they liked.
H and I went to a large state U and loved it with no regrets. We’re doing fine as graduates too. We didn’t know our professors as well as our lads did, but it was a different era for college back in our day.
Truly… different strokes for different folks.