OP you have very strong stats, and you are making the mistake many students do about thinking less of their options are when it comes to financial constraints and the choices they may have.
Mom2ck does know what she is talking about. Her two high stat kids went to UA and have continued their success beyond. My DD is a sophomore eng student at UA and has the merit scholarships she is advising you about.
Get your application in to UA now, so it would be an option for you with the merit awards.
You also may feel ‘shorted’ that your options would be wider if you were not an international student. Up to this point you have gotten a great education, maybe not without struggles, but what if you didn’t have the opportunities you have already had?
“My family/friends are in California, Georgia, Illinois, New York”. Unless any of them are ponying up to help fund your college costs beyond merit, or helping you with room/board if they live near a school, wanting to be in those locations is not in the cards.
Maybe you think there will not be high stat students around you at UA and UA Honors College, or you have some really stilted ideas of what UA, Tuscaloosa, or Alabama in general is all about. Or that your job opportunities would be limited because of having a degree from UA.
UA has a lot of students from CA, GA, IL, NY. They are not wrong in attending UA.