Hey NutsaN!
Congrats on the PennState interview! I don't think you should worry about school rankings if there are your POIs there...
I'm also from a post-soviet country (but the biggest one), and it is my second application cycle.
So, as I have been applying for almost two years, this is what I realized:
being an international student, you shouldn't expect much from the very top schools (like Ivies and UC's)... Most of them have limited funding for internationals and can accept only a few, if not one, of them (I mean for a particular program). And, of course, they prefer international students having research experience in the US to those who have their research experience only outside the US. Especially if it's not a renowned university/institute... So if you really want to get into one of the top grad schools, I would suggest you find a RA position in the US to get some experience there.
Also, have you applied only to 4 programs in the US?