Pitt and Penn State - do you qualify for in- state tuition in PA? Otherwise, Pitt is at the top of your budget including a $1k fee for international. And prices go up, not down. No aid is avail but merit is possible.
Same with Penn State - tuition, room and board are at the top of your budget. That’s this year - not next.
If you qualify in-state, I think you are fine.
If you don’t, your list isn’t great. It’s not built for an admission safety (you have) AND budget. Needs both.
I wouldn’t say you shouldn’t have hope for Ivy or anywhere. But for all, they’re difficult. And not all are tops in your area (physics) anyway.
Arizona, as noted, is $65.5k and 82% received the Global Wildcat Award - it doesn’t say how much.
There are LACs galore to hit and Bama at half your budget. I’m sure there’s more too but off the top of my head merit isn’t reduced for intl. And b4 you say, it’s beneath me - they are one of the top, if not top, in NM Scholars so there are plenty of well accomplished students running around, some with superior stats to you that they ‘buy’ in.
I’d say it depends on if you are considered in state for PA tuition - then you’re good. If not, you need an in case back up and to redo your list swapping out many of the publics - we’d have to look at cost one by one.
Make no mistake - you are fantastic and could get in anywhere. But you also might not. Or you might get into some you selected (none are safe but Pitt and Penn State), but getting in and not being able to afford is crushing.
all the Ivies - as an international, needing aid, I don’t really have much hope for these.
Several of the Ivies are known for providing aid to international students. I don’t think you should be so pessimistic. Their admissions policy is need blind.
*In addition to meeting the 12 Month Requirement, Non-U.S. Citizens must demonstrate that they fall into one of three immigration categories to be reclassified to PA Resident:
Asylee, refugee, or U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder); or
Has an approved I-140 or I-130, along with Form I-797, the Receipt Notice for the filing of Form I-485; or
Has an approved I-140 or I-130, along with evidence to support that they intend, but are unable, to file a Form I-485 because they do not have a current priority date as determined by the most recent U.S Department of State Visa Bulletin. To provide sufficient evidence under this category, the student must provide evidence of their country of birth; in most cases, a copy of the passport identification page meets this requirement.*
1 won’t apply to OP, but 2 or 3 might. OP, do you know if your parent has an I140 (immigration petition filed by employer) or i130 (immigration petition filed by family member) and if so whether he/she has filed for adjustment of status (i485) yet or is still waiting for their priority date to become current? If it is either of these you would qualify.
Getting a 36 is a lot easier than a 1600, so OP should consider studying for that.
Ohio university HTC should be <$40k with merit awards like Premier, Excellence, and Trustee (saw nothing to indicate that they don’t stack). It’s a pretty special program where you can take virtually all your majors courses as one on one or one on two tutorials which I assume would make for a better, more challenging learning environment than typical. There are also no prereqs for anything, so you could take physical chemistry first semester if you want