I graduated from a SLAC and am now a faculty member/grad program director at a Big 10 university. My son was just accepted at Beloit. In my opinion, there is no contest between Beloit and MSU–Beloit all the way! There are several critical differences, but most important, from my perspective, are the emphasis on writing and critical thinking, small class sizes, level of peers in terms of their interest in learning vs. going through the motions, quality of teaching, and campus culture (just how into football are you?). Fundamentally, research universities prioritize and support faculty research (not teaching, and certainly not undergraduates), while small liberal arts colleges are designed to support undergraduates and provide excellent teaching; the two types of institutions have completely different foci.