Look at some Colleges That Change Lives. You might qualify for a very nice merit aid package from some of them. New College of Florida would probably be less expensive than even Michigan, and has some very good, research-oriented science departments. They focus a great deal on independent study and self-designed curricula. They have built their computer science program up a great deal. They even started up a graduate program (their first in any discipline) for Data Sciences. They don’t have the vast resources that Michigan has, but they have a definite nerdy element (combined with hippie and hipster). Clark, Goucher, and American University might all offer you very nice merit packages (although not necessarily enough to bring them down under $35k).