"For example, if money was no object, I would pay full price for a college like Bowdoin, but I’m not sure I’d pay full price for a college like Union, even though it’s a wonderful school. "
And I would pay FP for Union. There is a lot to recommend it that is different from Bowdoin. (In addition to engineering.) But in reality, a student who was accepted to Bowdoin will probably be offered merit at Union.
Having looked at LACs at both ends of the top 50 list, I think that if the fit is right, a student can have an excellent experience regardless. And I can think of one student who went to a LAC that was well out of the top 50 (by choice), got tons of personal attention, thrived, and is now in a highly selective PhD program in a competitive field.
There’s a lot about the LAC experience that is great. It’s really about what you want those 4 years to be, both in and out of the classroom.