Lot of MU disrespect. Some of these schools I've barely heard of and/or they don't resonate with me as being prestigious (Earlham College????).
http://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2015/07/29/top-25-best-midwest-colleges-2015/
I'm honestly expected 1/4 of the colleges in the US to go under in 10 years. I don't see how the model works for most of them. Even schools as big as the University of Alabama (granted my football rival) do not have a sustainable model that logically keeps them in business. I believe that was part of their effort to get rid of UAB football - they need students from the other schools in the system applying to Alabama.
The schools on this list have probably done some things that help get them to that model - such as leaving kids with low enough student debt that the school will be viewed enough of a value to survive when others start dropping.
Higher Ed is not where I would want to be right now - but I do believe MU has done a great job considering some disadvantages.