huge numbers of college students who dominate much of the caucuses

I can tell you from experience that this most definitely is not what happened in my precinct. It was a very representative cross section of the people I see around town every day.

A caucus does tend to draw people who are more passionate about politics but that may not be so bad. It is folks who are generally more informed about the issues than the folks who do not participate. The real problem for me is that it takes so long. It is a two-hour commitment and some people are not in a position to do that at a particular time in a particular place. With a primary you can pop in and vote whenever you have a chance. I don't know which is best but we have caucuses so that is what I do.