I think the elephant-in-the-room remains small school-rural location vs mid sized university-suburban/urban dichotomy - no one on this thread can resolve that for you.
I’m a fan of LACs, but Amherst is not a science-strong LAC. As far as neuroscience, and for that matter all sciences are concerned, there is little question of NUs significant advantage.
Chicago poses a wide variable for students. Most make use of the city pretty extensively as upperclassman, much more rarely in their 1st two years. But very large %s are now doing 1-2 term for-credit internships downtown. It’s proven a very popular way to gain experience in a potential future career and demonstrate real world work experience when recruiters come to call. Many of these are opportunities with top firms available thanks to Chicago’s size and Northwestern’s connections/alumni base. Many would be out of reach for summer internships, competitiveness being what it is. A big plus for the school.
http://www.internships.northwestern.edu/program/process.html