PhD microbiology/infectious disease program...NEED ADVICE PLEASE

I recently graduated from the University of Michigan with a BS in microbiology. I loved it and am hoping to get my PhD in it. However my GPA wasn’t stellar and my research was in bioinformatics related to microbiology so I have very little “wet lab experience”. My parents are not science people and because I am now graduated I don’t have access to an advisor so I am hoping someone on here can help give me some guidance as to some of the schools I should set my sights on that are reasonable. Considering these stats can someone please suggest some programs that I might be able to get into? Or just tell me i don’t have any shot of getting in at all that is okay too).

Undergrad: umich, 3.2 GPA, BS in microbiology (and spanish)
Research: Worked in a bioinformatics lab for 2 years and co-authored a paper that is currently under review for publication. (My PI thinks there is a good chance it will get published but I don’t really know). Also worked in an animal behavior lab freshman year studying wasps but that is not related to micro at all.

GRE: currently have a 157 in quant and whatever the reading thing is called and a 5.5 in writing. However I didn’t study and plan on taking it once more so expect it to go up slightly but probably not a ton.

Also concerned because aside from my PI I don’t think I will have the best two other letters of recommendation because I didn’t get close with any professors because michigan is huge and I am not outgoing and didn’t work hard to form any relationships.

So considering this what are some more middle of the road schools I should consider? I will apply to some reaches as well (I.e. Ucsf, Harvard, michigan, Etc.) but really need some advice on the more middle of the road schools. THANK YOU!! You’ll be helping me immensely.

Consider doing an MS before getting a PhD. It’s far better to get an MS from a middling school and your PhD from a top school than it is to go straight to a middling school for the PhD.

You are a kind of borderline candidate; your GPA is lowish and so are your GRE scores. If your letters of recommendation are lukewarm or don’t show much familiarity with you, that could be the nail in the coffin. An MS can strengthen that record, and you’d be more competitive for MS programs so you might win some funding. You’d get more wet lab experience, stronger recommendations, and the opportunity to earn a high GPA and prove your mettle. Plus you’d give some time for that publication go through an R/R round and get published, potentially.

Also, just because you graduated doesn’t necessarily mean your advisor will be unwilling to help you.

Agreeing with juillet overall, but as it is probably too late for this autumn, suggest finding a job in a microbiology job for the year. You will get the lab experience, and you can apply this autumn from it to both MS & PhD programs.

This:

drives me wild. It is daft enough when high school students say that about their SATs, but by the time you are applying for grad school you should be mature enough to not waste time and money taking an exam that means so little to you that you can’t bother studying for it.

I’m also not a big fan of this:

. Self-awareness is important. Again, when a HS student with your stats says that, the collective adult community on CC rolls its eyes and usually lets it be- b/c it is a 17 year old speaking, and reality will introduce itself all on its own. The people who get into Harvard aren’t just smart- there are plenty of people just as smart at UMichigan, and there’s no reason to think that you aren’t one of them- they are also some strong combination of self-disciplined / motivated / ambitious / hard working / determined etc. Is that you?

I don’t know specific microbiology programs well enough to offer useful advice. Going back to your UMi advisor- and even better, your research PI and asking them for names grad students and/or profs that would be good to talk to could shortcut some of the learning curve. You will get a lot of information, which will give you some good material to research further. You will need to do some thinking about what you might want to do with your PhD- academic research? teaching? corporate research? and what area of microbiology you are interested in. Looking at the research interests of the universities you are thinking of applying to is also really useful- does what the researchers are doing look interesting to you?