<p>Lafayette is small but the OP said he really likes “small and nerdy”, so how about WPI instead? It competes with RPI a lot for students and is priced about the same. You would likely get merit aid though it is hard to predict how much.
[Innovate</a> Everything - WPI - YouTube](<a href=“Innovate Everything - WPI - YouTube”>Innovate Everything - WPI - YouTube)
<a href=“https://www.wpi.edu/index.html[/url]”>https://www.wpi.edu/index.html</a></p>