I do not envy families going through this. We did it 10 years ago.
As Europeans, my kids largely targeted universities in the UK. Undergrad is normally 3 years, and they applied directly to the faculty they wanted (i.e. after major is chosen - no "finding yourself" year). The only things that mattered were grades, tests in the UK system, the application itself (standard for all UK schools), and the interview (with a requested independent writing project in one case). Nothing about extracurriculars or "holistic" considerations, though some effort was made re. race and class. We were very very happy with the results. (The cost is also 1/4 that of the US sticker price.)
