Thanks for the stats, @ucbalumnus. I was thinking in terms of small LACs, not large state Unis. CA beats just about anyone with diversity – no question. But for a small LAC, Mac has students from upwards of 90 countries. That’s pretty cool. Maybe global is a better word to use to describe it, versus “diverse.” In any case, it’s a welcoming community with many different faces.
“I am currently on a visa”
This changes everything.
Depending on the visa type, you might be considered in-state for the public Us in the state where you live, but that policy varies by state (and sometimes even by public institution within the state).
Depending on the visa type, you may be able to study without changing your visa, or you may be obligated to convert to an F-1 student visa. Those rules are made by the US government, so you need to do a bit of research to find out what your options are.
Whether need-based or merit-based aid is available for international applicants is up to the college/university itself. Be sure to look specifically at that.
Canadian universities often work out to be less expensive for international applicants. And of course, the institutions in your home country probably are affordable as well. Don’t restrict your application list to the US!
The only safeties here for international applicants, are institutions that admit solely by stats, and guarantee that admission policy for international applicants as well as for US applicants. A general rule of thumb, is that for international applicants who don’t need any aid, what would be considered an academic admission safety for a US citizen graduate with the same profile, can be considered no better than a match, and what that US citizen applicant would consider to be a match, will be a reach for the international applicant.