Thank you for all the replies!
I think I’ve been pretty well-immersed in the local cultures of the various countries I’ve called home. We aren’t a military family, and I’ve always gone to local public schools.
I don’t think I’d bring much diversity though - none of the countries I’ve lived in are particularly exotic. The one I’m living in right now, in particular, is extremely high-achieving and over-represented in U.S. colleges.
I made this post because I felt really insecure after a classmate said she doesn’t think it’s realistic for me to seriously consider schools like Brown, Duke and Chicago - and it is quite true that for most applicants from my country, you don’t get into an Ivy or Ivy-equivalent unless you’ve medalled at an international olympiad or done similarly amazing things.
From what I’ve gathered here, however, that won’t really apply to me? I definitely understand that these are still reaches, and that I’ve to work hard to have a chance, but I’d just hoped that they weren’t as impossible as my friend made them out to be.
Also, could schools like Case Western, U Rochester, Tulane and U Pitt be considered low matches or even safeties for me?