<p>There is one counterbalancing factor among liberal arts colleges (assuming they have somewhat diverse student bodies). You have a good chance of meeting and getting to know those students who are very different from you. It's not just who is on campus, it's how they interact, and at a smaller residential school with small classes, that sort of interaction is facilitated. So a school which is somewhat less diverse than a large university may, in the end, be more meaningfully diverse to many students.</p>