International freshman trying to change schools??

Hi, i’m a freshman at an university outside the u.s. i’ve applied to universities in the u.s. during my senior year of high school but ended up choosing not to go. but I finally realized and decided that i actually want to study there.
im currently wanting to take a gap semester (spring) and go to a u.s. college from next fall. i want to start as a freshman. ive done some research but most schools say i have to apply as a transfer. any schools that ill be able to apply as a freshman? if not, should i continue going to school for the spring, and apply as a transfer? and also will they accept sophomores as a transfer in that case?