glamour

Very poignant and deep introspection there. I find that I put tremendous weight on the acceptances and/or rejections I will receive. It feels as if my self worth is determined by them, by a decision from a group of anonymous strangers sitting in some conference room somewhere. What do these strangers know about my worth? I am more than my GRE score, my statement of purpose, my letters of recommendation. Why do I let myself be enslaved by their mythical mastery? It's pathetic, and I'm angry I feel this way. I try to play hypothetical thought experiments: if I were accepted by my dream school today, would I be a different person tomorrow? Somehow, I think so. If I were rejected? I'd be a loser. Of course, this is all false. I'm the same person today as I am tomorrow.

I'd be curious to know what your "small liberal arts university" is. A bachelor's in CS from Pomona or Amherst or Carleton would be strong, but if no one's heard of your school or can't distinguish it from some random online "university", that would be less competitive. I think the answer to this question would determine whether 75-100 should be your safety, or more like 15-30 range. GPA is decent, pretty good GRE scores. Agree with Abc_adams, the thing you should focus on at this point is the rest of your app. Probably never too soon to ask people to write your letters of rec, as well as beginning an outline of your statement of purpose.