<p>It seems to me that your biggest problem is the lack of financial aid. Improving your essays and ACT scores isn’t necessarily likely to result in dramatic improvement in your financial aid offers. Moving from the rejected pile at a school to the pile of international applicants who are accepted with substantial amounts of aid is a very tough feat. Better essays and stronger test scores can be helpful. But, even if those do manage to yield more positive admissions decisions for you, unless your family’s financial circumstances change, you might get similar financial aid offers next year. If you do take a gap year, you need to also have a solid back up plan to take effect if US colleges give you similar decisions next year.</p>