We (my D and I) visited both Beloit and Illinois Wesleyan, recently. (It’s been a very long time since i visited Earlham, so don’t know if my memories of it would even be valid… I remember, at 18 years old, not being impressed with Richmond.)
IL Wesleyan is not much larger than either Beloit or Earlham. They may have a few hundred more students, but all three schools are basically around 2k students, i believe.
Bloomington/Normal is a larger town(s) (twin cities), though, than either Richmond or Beloit, and there is a LOT more to do there. The train going into downtown Chicago is a fifteen to twenty minute walk from IWU’s campus. It takes 2 hours (so does the drive from Beloit to Chicago.)
Illinois State is also next door, 15 minutes on foot. With the two universities, and ISU being so big, Bloomington/Normal has much more of a college-town feel.
Beloit - despite Beloit’s actual distance to Chicago being closer -the drive is over an hour to the NW suburbs, so will be longer into Chicago proper, or the airport, almost two hours. Beloit probably runs a shuttle to the airport for students during holidays - but it will be inconvenient to just drive into Chicago for the afternoon or even weekend, due to the traffic in the NW 'burbs.**
Madison WI would be a much more convenient road trip.
Finally, the vibe at Beloit is somewhat liberal, somewhat “hipster”. That was just my observation the limited time I was there… I’ve always heard Earlham has a similar vibe, maybe more so…
IWU seemed more preppy, and has less of a national student body, I think (more regional, many kids from Chicago area, and all over IL) than the other two.
Beloit’s dorms - the ones they showed us - were older, but roomier than the ones we saw at IWU.
Both campuses are very attractive.
I think all three have equally good reputations as liberal arts colleges, and you’d get a fine education at any of the three. I can see why it’d be a tough decision!
** Just saw the above post re: the bus from South Beloit to Chicago. Would still be a long bus ride.
Imo, both Beloit and IWU are far enough away that I would not necessarily use proximity to Chicago as a deciding factor.
As for flights home - Earlham is about an hour away from the Indianapolis airport, and Indianapolis, and half an hour away from Ball State’s campus, if you get really bored with Richmond and someone has a car. Indiana U, in Bloomington, is about 2 hours away.