<p>It’s important to understand that you should try to attend a school where you can do the work, period. These schools are not arbitrary when they consider scores and grades. They do so because the academic rigor is intense. You seem to be choosing schools on the basis of prestige/ ranking. You will do yourself no favors if you cannot handle the work. Better to find true academic matches where you can distinguish yourself. The fact that so many here on CC strive to get into schools that are beyond their capabilities is worrisome. Setting high goals is laudable, but setting reasonable ones is far more so. To this end, I highly recommend you winnow your list to two of those high reach schools, at the most, and find more matches and safeties. </p>