Though most people think of universities (especially those with medical schools) for biology research, biology is one of those majors that is often better studied at a LAC. Because biology is such a popular subject at almost every college, class sizes can be very large at the introductory level at universities, and labs and discussion sections are usually run by graduate students (TAs). Professors tend to supervise at least a couple of PhD students working on projects under a larger project umbrella, and in turn those graduate students supervise undergraduate students. University professors in the sciences are often (but not always) more disinterested in teaching than their counterparts in the humanities and social sciences.
The degree to which a motivated undergraduate can get the funding and resources to carry out a project of his/her own design varies a lot from one university to another. LACs, on the other hand, have no graduate students for undergraduates to compete with.
Price is going to vary depending on the LAC and how much financial and/or merit aid you can expect to receive. Run the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator for each college of interest.
Based on your past posts, definitely take a look at the New College of Florida.