<p>The most critical factor in admissions is the ability to do the work. If your high school is “unknown” in that it seldom sends students to US colleges and its teachers and counselors are unaccustomed to writing recommendations, admissions has less of a benchmark to go by. Standardized tests can provide helpful comparisons, but admissions do understand that students from other cultures with other languages often underperform on US/English based tests, so relatively weak scores are not necessarily a deal breaker.</p>
<p>The responsibility of “convincing” admissions that you’re up to the challenge really falls on the applicant’s shoulders. You can do this through your essays and through the content of your recommendation letters. (I don’t mean you need to write the letters, just that you should make sure they cover the points you want to communicate.)</p>
<p>Small liberal arts colleges tend to be more holistic in their admissions review and don’t mind extra materials (up to a reasonable point) that help them evaluate the applicant. These would include additional recommendations from a mentor or leader, expository writing examples, art and performance supplements. </p>
<p>You should take advantage of the services offered by the US Embassy to help high achieving international students learn about their options for study in America.
<a href=“http://jakarta.usembassy.gov/study/study-advising.html”>http://jakarta.usembassy.gov/study/study-advising.html</a></p>
<p>As @paul2752 notes, tackle the money first.</p>