It has a separately endowed college dedicated to community service, which funds service programs, including a new gap year service program http://activecitizen.tufts.edu/about/
It has loan repayment assistance program to make it easier to go into public service after graduation http://lrap.tufts.edu/
You live in Massachusetts? Do you know about Clark University in Worcester? Very community service oriented, extremely LGBT-friendly, quirky, small LAC. Their sciences, I am not too sure about. I do not think they have an actual neuroscience major. Here is info about their sciences: http://www.clarku.edu/departments/sciences/
They also have a student-run ambulance service. The students who work on it are certified EMTs.
Take a serious look at Hendrix College. If you can get past the location in the beautiful, “Natural State” of Arkansas, you will do well there with generous merit aid. Hendrix has a Neuroscience minor, med school acceptance rate of 89%, quirky, zero Greek presence, very accepting of all students, 50% OOS presence, strong theatre and strong service-orientation.
Merit packages mailed with acceptance to students with similar stats as yours range in the $19K to $26K with additional scholarship opportunities for theatre, art, music or community service. If you file the FAFSA in a timely manner (before March 1) you get an automatic $1000 filing scholarship renewable each year you fill out FAFSA (this $ is even for those that do not qualify for any need-based aid.)
Also in the acceptance package comes an offer for an additional $500 scholarship for visiting the campus between December and May. In other words - they would like you to visit to see for yourself - the quality and value and fit.
Little Rock, AR is 30 minutes drive away - with a major airport for ease of travel.
U of Tulsa. Also, for a tuition bargain think about South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, a small STEM university. A bit quirky and very active campus for a small place. Lots of clubs and many community service projects, including “Mines Day,” where students go out into Rapid City and help with charitable projects. You might be surprised by the regional and ethnic diversity at SDSM&T. Also, lots of research opportunities for undergraduates. Finally, the career placement at Mines is excellent. The non-engineering departments: Mathematics, Applied Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Geology Departments are strong, though Mines is known for its excellent engineering.
“…for example I do like talking about fashion, makeup, etc. and I’ve read posts about LACs on these boards reassuring people that the students didn’t care about shallow things like fashion.”
I’ll take a flying leap of faith, albeit a stereotypical one, and guess that you are female. If so, then you should realize up front that Mines, like most STEM colleges, is significantly male. Fear not, however, as women students at Mines anecdotally say they like the place quite a lot; and the school is working hard to attract greater numbers of female applicants. Given your interests, investigate the following clubs at Mines;
Queer Students and Allies
Drama Club
HAP’ N (campus entertainment)
Engineers and Scientists Abroad
Also, if you’re spiritual and Christian, ask about the Lutheran organization at Mines. I don’t whether it’s the Evangelical Lutheran organization, or the Missouri Synod Lutherans. The ELCA has a reputation of being very welcoming to LGBT Christians.
@LakeWashington,
Mines doesn’t appear to be a good match for the OP. It doesn’t have courses in theater or neurobiology, both of which are on her wish list.
The OP said that she wanted a school with “theater opportunities.” If she meant an actual Theater or Drama Department, then no, Mines doesn’t have such academic offerings. As for neurosciences, in the main that is is a graduate-study field. There are exceptions, of course.
I think Mines is a fine school, but for the right student, and from my POV, that’s not the OP.
-She’s concerned about needing a lot of FA, and according to the CDS Mines covers 55% of need on average (46% for last year’s freshman class).
-She’s interested in neurobiology, and while many LACs don’t offer a full major in it, most have at least one neurobiologist on the faculty and offer some classes in the discipline. A search for neuroscience or neurobiology on the Mines website yields no results.
-She wants a school with “many theater opportunities”. Mines has a drama club, as does just about every school, but she may not want to be limited to one play a semester. A school with a theater major is likely to have better facilities and more need for theater tech kids.
I think many of the other schools mentioned on the thread are better matches.
With respect to your interest in pre-med, several of the suggestions on this thread also appear in this online list: “The Experts’ Choice: Colleges with Great Pre-med Programs.”
You should definitely look into the Bonner program. Bonner scholars have their financial need met. Plus they receive stipends so they can pursue (required) community service opportunities. Allegheny College is a Bonner school that I think would meet all your requirements. They have an “unusual combinations” focus where you can easily combine Neuroscience and theater.