Weāve visited all three ā several times for Kalamazoo and Earlham, just once for Allegheny to watch a college sports event. I would say Kzoo and Earlham have the most in common, while Allegheny seems a little less diverse student population and there doesnāt seem to be a compelling reason to pay more each year, from my perspective.
Kzoo is 2 hours + from Chicago and Detroit. Kzoo is located in a small city, nestled on a few block area, students cross town streets ā though there isnāt much traffic ā to get to some buildings. There is a lovely grass quad which is not visible from the street, a charming dining hall with fireplaces, and a beautiful library renovation. The college is a few blocks away from a major public university, Western Michigan, so the area around the college has shops set up for a large student population. Academics at Kzoo are good ā many students are attracted to the āopenā curriculum ā a student has more flexibility to design their own course of study and does not have a lot of mandatory areas of study. Students have to complete the requirements for their major, but other than a writing requirement and foreign language, they do not have mandatory science, humanities or other courses. Another consideration is that Kzoo operates on the trimester system ā students typically take fewer classes than in a traditional semester system, but the classes move faster. That affects the academic calendar as well, because classes donāt start until later in September, whereas most semester schools start in early September. Finally, Kzoo does not have āgreekā life. Weather at Kzoo will be variable ā there is ārealā winter, with plenty of snow since it is Michigan, but spring, summer and fall are lovely. It is less than an hour to the beaches at Lake Michigan, which can make for a fun weekend outing.
Earlham is located in a town, smaller than the city of Kalamazoo, about an hour from Indianapolis and 90 minutes from Columbus, Ohio. Earlhamās campus is more of a traditional US college campus ā separate from the town on its own, a peaceful, pretty campus with mostly red brick buildings. We found the swing hanging from a tree on the main part of campus to be charming, as students would stop and swing for a bit and talk with friends. Earlham has been renovating and expanding its science, athletic, arts, and dining halls over the past 10 years or so, and the facilities are excellent (the dining hall renovation had not begun when we visited, so I donāt know if that is on track). We live in Indiana, and we know many students who have chosen Earlham for its warmth and supportive community. The town of Richmond is not much to look at-- there is a small area of shops not far from campus, the basics are there including a hip coffee shop. Weather will be slightly less cold and snow than Kzoo, though still some snow.
Allegheny is about 90 minutes from Pittsburgh. Similar to Kzoo, campus is intersected by town streets though in a quiet area so there is not a lot of traffic. There is a single central dining hall, like Kzoo, and the athletic facilities were good. There is greek life at Allegheny and the student body seemed much less diverse than at Kzoo and Earlham. Unless there is an academic program at Allegheny which is not available at Kzoo or Earlham, I would remove it from the list.
Congrats on having good choices!