I feel like a lot of people ask this but I need advice and help so bare with me! I went to a top 4 undergraduate college and graduated with an overall GPA of 3.0 and major GPAs of 3.2 in biology and 3.1 in geophysical science. I have 2 years of research experience in microbial biogeochemistry during my time in undergraduate (one of these years was purely independent research). Unfortunately, no publications. I am taking the next 1-2 years off to work as a lab tech to get more experience (hoping it will offset my low GPA a bit). Also, to obtain a great 3rd recommendation. I'm also considering getting a tech job at one of my top choice schools in hopes that I could get to know the professors better and maybe get an "in" by finding a potential adviser. My GRE scores are Q: 170 V:163 W:4 Do I have any chance of getting into a good microbiology/biology phd program? Should I aim for a masters instead? My top choices are UCSD/Scripps, USC, and Berkley. Do I have any chance here? Also, what schools would you all recommend that I could count as "target" schools for me? I'm trying to figure out where I stand in terms of graduate school rankings...