Background:
University: UC Davis
GPA: 3.02 (barely pass the minimum requirement)
Major: Neuroscience
Year: Incoming Senior
GRE:320+3.5
I have two publications, one is accepted and the other is in preparation, co-first author. 1.5 year of research. My letters are not very strong(did not build a good relationship with my lecture prof). I am a international student if that is notable.
Future plan: I plan to get phd degree, post-doc and then look for a job in a institute. I am interested in brain circuits but I am also comfortable in other fields.
I am not very sure what kind of program should I aim for. I want to get straight into phd but I know it requires high gpa which is lacking in my profile. Should I try apply master for some top 50 programs and phd for some top 100 programs? I feel a bit nervous because when I research in the forum everyone seems to have 3.4+gpa.
Thanks for your time and any advice, kind Internet people.