I could present a valid counterpoint for every point in post #24, but I won’t unless OP asks, and she has yet to return.
Some of the LACs mentioned here really are rural, particularly Middlebury, Hamilton, and Williams. They happen to be three of the best LACs in the country. Again, I point to their retention rates, which are exceptionally high. Their students are happy. They stick around.
Quite a few of the LACs mentioned are not rural. They are in small towns, or large towns, or in cities, or part of a consortium. They too have high retention rates.
Larger schools have high retention rates too. There are shy kids at all types of schools, and extroverts at all types of schools.
I would guess that if you asked LAC students the primary reason they chose a small school, the answer would be heavily skewed towards wanting smaller classes and opportunities to interact with professors, right from the start. Bigger schools have smaller classes for upperclassmen, but for underclassmen, they are not common.
ETA: My son was dead set against LACs and goes to Binghamton, a mid sized university of 13,000. He loves it. He has had a couple of smallish classes so far. It’s the right place for him. Different strokes for different folks.