Just remember that the GC don’t care about your money. They are planning the perfect wedding, a dream vacation, the bathroom remodel of your dreams. Bigger, better, more expensive. You are dealing in reality. The schools are all marketing away, making each school seem unique and marvelous when there really are many schools that would work.
My daughter wanted a small school of 2500 or so, but ended up at a small flagship of about 10,000. She’s very happy that she has many more options for classes, friends, living situations than she would have had at a smaller school. She changed majors because she really didn’t like being in a small department with only about 30 kids in her year.
I’m sure if you lived in a town with a high school with 3000 students, she would have gotten used to it. Smaller isn’t always better.