@Helpmeimlost
As mentioned demonstrated need depends entirely on how much need your family is able to demonstrate. Need based aid is difficult for internationals to predict. Net price calculators generally don’t apply, and your estimated family contribution is impacted by comparative standards of living, exchange rates and complex income streams. Some colleges’ financial aid departments will give you a reasonable indication of how much you might be eligible for. Contact a few and see what kind of responses you get.
This list is not exhaustive (I’m sure there are others) but it’s a good starting point for “guarantee to meet full need for internationals.” I’d have to agree that limiting your geographic range to California puts you at a severe disadvantage. You need to widen your net.
Amherst, Brown, Chicago, Colby, Dartmouth, Davidson, Duke, Grinnell, Hamilton, Harvard, JHU, MIT, Macalester, Middlebury, Penn, Pitzer, Pomona, Princeton, Richmond, Rhodes, Stanford, Swarthmore, Vanderbilt, Vassar, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Williams
In addition many colleges, including Harvey Mudd and CMC, offer merit scholarships to internationals; however, the amounts received vary widely. These colleges (again not all-inclusive) offer merit aid to internationals:
Alabama, Babson, Bard, Carlton, Chicago, CMC, Clark, Davidson, Dickinson, Duke, Emory, Fordham, Grinnell, JHU, Harvey Mudd, Howard, Kenyon, Louisiana, Miami, Mt. Holyoke, North Carolina, Northeastern, Notre Dame, Rhodes, Rice, Richmond, Rochester, Scripps, Smith, Syracuse, Tulane, Trinity U, Vanderbilt, Wooster, W&L, WUSTL
As mentioned, small and medium sized colleges in the midwest, in the south and in rural areas anywhere don’t get that many international applicants, especially from the middle east. Demographics, diversity and life experience are important admissions factors. Your background will function, in effect, as an EC. Think about what you can contribute to the campus community, both in and out of the classroom, and make sure you expand on that in your essays, recommendations and resumes.