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<p>Well, I can think of more than two public LACs with relatively low out-of-state costs of attendance (Truman State, Minnesota - Morris, NC - Asheville, SUNY - Geneseo).</p>
<p>But there are other reasons that big universities may be more popular:</p>
<ul>
<li>LACs de-emphasize overtly pre-professional majors, which are the most popular ones overall among college students.</li>
<li>Many students attend their local state universities for (commuting) convenience reasons.</li>
</ul>
<p>Have to agree, though that neither type is necessarily better than the other. It depends a lot on the student. There is also considerable variation in desirable and undesirable characteristics between individual schools of each type.</p>