Bowdoin and Amherst both have good neuroscience programs, so maybe that would still work for OP.
One question I asked above is important…have you asked two teachers from junior year for letters of rec? If not please do that ASAP, since you are considering ED.
Do you have college options in your home country?
Ok, thanks - very good information.
It’s very important to know the other students’ status because at need-aware colleges, they would have been considered strong enough to override lack of money. That they were in the same financial situation as you are means we can expect the same basic outlook for you, all things being equal.
Can you go to the colleges’ websites and “join the mailing list”, with your “college email” address. If you don’t have one, use name_college@xx.com, sth official-looking, that you’ll use to centralize all emails from colleges. They’ll send you info: always open the messages , then click on whatever interests you. They’ll track this. In addition, it can help you find a professor for whom you could work so you could email them etc.
I said I can pay up to 5000 dollars a year which is nearly full need compared to many colleges that doesn’t mean I can’t afford to live there on my own , paying and average of 50000 dollars a year is impossible!
Yeah , If I didn’t get in .
I can join medical school in my country, it depends only on the senior year grade which I hope to be like the other two years at high school. There is a lot of options at my country fr
Another thing you need to do is write something oddly called a “brag sheet” for your guidance counselor and your teacher.
Common section: summary of everything about yourself that you shared in your original post. Sure, they know about it, but it helps having it all together before their eyes.
For GC: school profile (esp. The fact it’s a highly selective public boarding school). Includes % on free breakfast, % for whom the boarding school is subsidized, % who go on to higher education including % who attend the most selective universities in the country plus if relevant % admitted to universities abroad (US, UK, Australia, Nee Zealand, China, India, etc.) % who receive national awards or accolades.
Gathering this info may take a while.
Also: favorite moments of learning or times you showed character, humor, respect by classmates, respect by faculty, resilience… while at school (or elsewhere).
For each teacher
Why you love their subject
A moment when they taught you and changed your perspective on sth, opened your eyes to sth new, etc.
A moment you found sth difficult but overcame the difficulty and how tou did so
Favorite chapter, unit, book, experiment… and why
Favorite team project, lab with classmates, or collective endeavor and why
Don’t forget to thank them for what you learned and what they brought you
Teachers and GC can then pick and choose from the anecdotes and recount specific moments or examples as they recall them.
Thanks a lot to all of you 
You really helped me a lot .
And I guess that’s the problem. I’m trying to provide accurate information to OP, who has said they are NOT taking a test. Yes, a test is often preferred, but not required everywhere, even Ivy League schools. Obviously, the test required schools will not be an option.
OP is looking full pay, Ivy and engineering. With top schools including some Ivy and other top schools now requiring tests, that’s an issue.
If you go back and read my statement I didn’t say all Ivies but given the high test submission at Columbia and engineering is likely higher, it is likely for all intents and purposes not TO.
OP is not taking the test because they don’t want to study.
Yet they want the world from a college. Makes little sense.
Also makes this impressive list of ECs questionable in my mind.
OP wants the glory but to not do the necessity.
I wish them luck in their pursuit but if I wanted something I’d put myself in the best position to achieve it. But OP isn’t willing which seems odd given all they’ve stated they’ve accomplished.
You don’t know why they aren’t taking it and really it’s not your business.
I said I didn’t take the test until now due to personal reasons I don’t want to share . I NEVER stated I don’t want to take it because I don’t want to study , I have already began studying 6 months ago and continued for 4 months then this personal issue arose . So please don’t say anything I didn’t mention
Op told us why. I didn’t make it up. They don’t want to study for it. Their words. Not mine. I suggested trying cold turkey then.
Please read their posts before you criticize.
“I know how much that affect my chances but really I am no taking the exam because i don’t want to study”
Please, read OPs statement again - they said the issue was not studying but sth catastrophic/traumatic. Beside all personal tragedies, this can include civil strife, climate disaster, etc. OP also stated it is entirely out of their hands and requested we not bring it up again.
It is what it is.
BTW, the test policy is different for internationals even at some Ivies requiring testing (I gave the iGCSE+ALevels example, whereby they’re considered external/national scores and are thus used instead of US standardized tests if students want to.)
Take the back and forth to PM. Points were made. Move on.
If you want to be an engineer, cross W & L off of your list. They do not have ABET certification and most employers who hire engineers will require this.
We toured W&L and the engineering area honestly seemed like a high school - suggesting a lack of focus, as does the fact that they have not gotten ABET certified.
One first thing we need to know is how important Engineering is to you. Your odds would be better if you found a STEM major you liked outside of Engineering due to most meet need colleges either not offering it or not being TO if they do, especially wrt meet need/need blind.
You listed:
biomedical engineering, neuroscience (with a minor in CS), or aerospace/mechanical engineering
as your interests
And you’re clearly invested in biomedical research but also various life science processes because I see impressive awards and work in Biomedicine, Biology, Climate science, Global health, Physics, and Neuroscience.
I’m wondering if there are fields that are adjacent enough to your interests and research that you could pivot to them if it meant the full ride you need, in part because without a full ride you’re unlikely to be able to attend even if you’re admitted due to the visa process.
Here is a list from Cornell CALS, which is test-free (even if submitted, test scores are not considered at all so applying TO will not be detrimental); it is, however, need aware, so being high-need will be used against you. As a result, I would not choose it for ED but I would include it for RD. Most interestingly they have lots of majors that may be of interest. Among the non engineering ones, do some strike your interest?
I agree that as an intl seeking FA, esp for engineering, a test will give you a lot more opportunities. But if that isn’t possible, my suggestion would be to apply to all the schools you want to as a TO applicant and look into 2 things:
Traveling internationally on vacation with limited Internet access. Will respond after returning.
I think it is a typo. I originally interpreted that sentence the way you did, but based on their other posts, I read this as “I am not not taking the exam because I don’t want to study.”
Also, English is likely not the OP’s first language and they may not be familiar with a sentence construct like the above (which is not great grammar either).
Have returned from vacation and have read through all the messages on this thread.
@some_potato, you have several notable awards, but admission to the top colleges in the USA is already difficult for students that have everything right (grades, test scores, activities, recommendations), and much more so for students that are international.
Realistically, I think admission to a top-20 college is unlikely. Unfortunately those are also the ones that are most generous with aid, so the key challenge will be to find colleges that are both slightly less selective and still generous with aid to international students without a test score. Some slightly less selective colleges known for generous international aid include Wesleyan, Haverford, the previously mentioned W&L, Bowdoin, and Skidmore, but note that none of those are known for engineering programs. You could also try Rice and Vanderbilt which are more selective than those listed above, but have been known for being generous to selected international students.
Bowdoin isn’t an easier admit in my opinion, and the others you mentioned are still tough admits. Skidmore is probably a reasonable target for OP.