FWIW - jumping in
My 25 visited (and got in) to Ithaca and visited Union (and we likely will visit Union/RPI (nearby each other) with 27 too). 25 also drove by Hobart William Smith but didn’t do official tours.
The setting/town area of Hobart was lovely to all (I wasn’t on this trip, actually) and if looking for that sort of school (small LAC) seemed delightful. I have heard nothing but lovely things.
If my 25 had decided on TV/Film major, I think they would have gone to Ithaca - they liked it a lot. Wonderful comms school (Park), very hands-on with solid facilities, good alumni network, Ithaca was a great college town, etc. Liked the vibes, etc. It was a good medium size for them..
Union - I thought Schenectady was better than people give in credit for! I mean it isn’t anywhere I would go for vacation, but it isn’t so bad IMO. There are some cafes and restaurants and a theater all within walking distance from campus. The campus itself is quite nice and is unusual for having a large engineering program (and D1 hockey team) for such a small school.
I agree a drive from Union to Clarkson is a LOT though! Or Union to Buffalo… but if you have a whole week…
We did these on different trips..an overnight to Union and then the partner and kid flew and did Ithaca/Rit/Syracuse/Hobart too on that. We never visited Clarkson/Bing.