<p>My impression is that high achieving Indonesian students are people of interest at a lot of schools these days. The problem will not so much be getting into a good college as paying for it.</p>
<p>The first thing you need to do is run a few net price calculators to find out the maximum amount of need based aid you might be eligible for. The NPC’s are geared toward U.S. students and except for a few cases (those schools that guarantee to meet full need) the actual aid granted will be less than the NPC indicates. </p>
<p>The point of this exercise is to determine if your estimated family contribution is workable (plus travel expense). If the EFC is unaffordable, then you cannot apply to schools that are need only. All of the Ivy League and most of the most selective universities and colleges (including Wesleyan) fall into this category.</p>
<p>If need based aid doesn’t work you have to look to schools that offer merit aid. Merit aid for any one is unpredictable and for internationals it is scarce. </p>
<p>So run a few net price calculators and see how that works out. If you qualify for some need based aid you’ll be able to put together a wider list. I’m a fan of small LACs too, but in order to secure “substantial” financial aid you’ll need a knockout application and a wide and creative list.</p>