@ThankYouforHelp: I completely agree that Amherst and Pomona are outstanding schools where students get a wonderful education and have a most pleasant college experience. Due to the more contained and smaller community feel of such schools for many they are ideal. You are correct in that a fit between a student and a school is crucial. But since Elijah PS expresses a specific interest in econ and is from abroad I thought it might be helpful to acquaint him with the point of view that UChicago may have multiple advantages for him that he might not have been aware of.
There is one other possible drawback of LACs such as Amherst in the contemporary knowledge environment. Can LACs cope with the explosion of knowledge and specialization of disciplines that has happened over the past decades? For example, in computer science sub specialties (e.g. data mining, cloud computing) develop. I wonder whether LACs have the resources to bring on faculty knowledgeable in and ready to teach such topics. Bigger universities, including state universities may have a resource advantage here. LACs may be great at developing liberal-arts education facilitated critical and creative thinking skills but do they have a problem educating students in the newer, technical, and more specialized areas of learning? It would be a shame if that is so because they are great schools that have a lot to offer many students.