I have a strong liberal arts bias for undergraduates

I think that's one of the things that makes ND great and special. Strong liberal arts taught by actual faculty members, not graduate students or adjuncts.

There are few other large research universities that have aligned their resources so strongly in favor of undergraduates instead of graduate/professional study.

I think students get a better education at Amherst and Williams than they would at Duke or Northwestern if one is looking for liberal arts. But yes, Duke and ND both have superior alumni networks.

Bowdoin's alumni network is fantastic and punches way ahead of schools much larger. But you really have to be immune to the cold up there.

NESACs biggest problem is that the northeast is in a state of population decline and because of what they are, don't necessarily have the scale that a national university does.