Are you looking for recommendations for U.S. colleges also?
No knowledge on China but to answer your questions if the US is in play and yes, I would think you’d want a test score to be competitive. And some may require it.
There are colleges that are need-blind and meet need. So they won’t factor in your need to their decision making and if they admit you, they will meet your need. Whether or not they would calculate your need to 1500 Euros or less is the question.
• Amherst College
• Bowdoin College
• Brown
• Dartmouth College
• Harvard University
• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Princeton University
• Washington & Lee
• Yale University
Notre Dame is need blind for admissions but reading their policy, it doesn’t appear they assure to meet need if admit an international - at least as I read their policy. I could be wrong.
W&L meets need as noted but that doesn’t mean 1500 Euros. Another option they give you is they have something called the Johnson Scholarship, which is a full ride + and is given to international students - so that’s a way to hedge. About 10% of the class is given the scholarship.
There are other schools - @MYOS1634 mentioned some. Others like
• Bates
• College of the Holy Cross
• Colgate
• Davidson
• Denison
• Franklin & Marshall
• Stanford
• Tufts
And maybe more meet need if they admit you, but they may not admit you because you need so much aid - meaning they are need aware. They have limited funds and likely want to spread them amongst people that can pay more.
I’m linking a 3rd party list below. These 8 I just listed meet need (I checked) but you can check the rest. I did check some - like U Miami and Connecticut College and they didn’t say they meet need. But it gives you a start - you’d have to research each (beyond those I listed, which I already have).
But remember, just because they meet need and you have a desired price, doesn’t mean, even if admitted, they will agree with your need amount.
Good luck.
In the US a music supplement can help, with recording/video, music resume, and letter(s) of recommendation related to music. It is not clear whether that is relevant for you but wanted to mention. Did your 10 years at conservatory involve performances you could list? Do you still have a teacher?
The ballet which was stopped years ago is not relevant and shouldn’t be listed as a high school EC.
Others have posted about the need-blind schools for internationals. Another consdieration as mentioned above is meeting full need. You can also consider merit scholarships if appropriate.
These are the U.S. colleges that are both need blind for admissions and guarantee to meet full need for international admitted students:
Amherst College
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Dartmouth College
Harvard University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Princeton University
University of Notre Dame
Washington and Lee
Yale University
Disregard the question on the NPC asking whether you’re a domestic applicant. The result you’ll get is the best-case scenario. If that’s too high then it’s not worth trying and you can cross it out.
You can cross out St Olaf already.
Room&board is WAYYYY more than $1,500. Basically you need the NPC to indicate they’ll cover most of the costs. These amounts are very rare.
(The real financial aid package will take into account national cost of living, so that if your parents make 50k in a country where the average yearly income is 2k, they’re living very very well, but if you’re living in a high income country, they don’t.)
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When you do these…as suggested by @MYOS1634 …if you see a Pell Grant or a Direct Loan as part of the estimated financial aid you might receive…you need to add those amounts back into YOUR costs as you are not eligible for these. Same with federal work study. These are awarded to US citizens or permanent residents only.
If there are any state awarded grants, you likely aren’t eligible for those either.
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