DRMF

Schools that I know are international friendly (in non-COVID times): UTSW, Sloan Kettering, Weill Cornell. Potentially also: WashU (Washington University in St. Louis) and UChicago. Harvard probably but I'm not sure about all bio programs.
UCs are notorious for being low on international admits. The year I applied UC Berkeley's website had a bolded line stating there are *very few* spots for international students. My undergrad PI spent 6 years as a post doc at Stanford and said he never saw a single international Immunology student - I have not fact-checked that myself.
Most school websites show international student %s somewhere. Below is the list I compiled for myself when I applied. Most numbers were for the specific program I applied to and not their entire biosciences. "OK" means >30% I think.
Stanford low
Harvard 34%
MIT OK
Yale 30%
WUSTL 30%
UCLA 20%
Columbia OK
UT SW OK
Baylor College of Medicine 33%
Sloan Kettering OK
Weill Cornell 46%
Einstein College of Medicine 30%
NYU OK

I don't know about biotech jobs. I think in academia UTSW is well-respected; people may debate about it being top 20, but I don't expect anyone to say it's an unknown or no-name school. I interviewed there and met multiple faculty members who did postdocs in or moved from other well-known places (the 2 examples I now explicitly remember were from UChicago and UCSF iirc). The school is less popular than it deserves science-wise, because people usually want to live on the coasts rather than in Texas. The specifics will depend on your specific area of study, and where (location-wise) you're hoping to get job offers from. I'd imagine UTSW is probably better recognized in Texas, but I could totally be wrong (in fact, I've been told that the further you are from Boston, the more impressive Harvard sounds lol). I don't really know if it'd be considered a near ivy, because I don't think people generally rank grad schools in "ivy" terms.
At the end of the day, if you do an amazing PhD under an advisor well-known in their field, and graduate with two first-author publications in Nature, the school's overall prestige becomes essentially irrelevant; in fact, it's you who then bring prestige to the school. If, however, you do a somewhat average PhD, then people will have to judge you by thinking "well their publications aren't amazing, but hey they did graduate from X". You probably already know this, but having it spelled out to me did make my mind clearer when I was considering grad school choices myself.
Anyway, congrats and enjoy your interviews!

Dr. Google says
https://science.gmu.edu/academics/departments-units/systems-biology/admissions
https://graduateadmissions.wvu.edu/academics/graduate-programs/biology-d

Schools that I know are international friendly (in non-COVID times): UTSW, Sloan Kettering, Weill Cornell. Potentially also: WashU (Washington University in St. Louis) and UChicago. Harvard probably but I'm not sure about all bio programs.
UCs are notorious for being low on international admits. The year I applied UC Berkeley's website had a bolded line stating there are *very few* spots for international students. My undergrad PI spent 6 years as a post doc at Stanford and said he never saw a single international Immunology student - I have not fact-checked that myself.
Most school websites show international student %s somewhere. Below is the list I compiled for myself when I applied. Most numbers were for the specific program I applied to and not their entire biosciences. "OK" means >30% I think.
Stanford low
Harvard 34%
MIT OK
Yale 30%
WUSTL 30%
UCLA 20%
Columbia OK
UT SW OK
Baylor College of Medicine 33%
Sloan Kettering OK
Weill Cornell 46%
Einstein College of Medicine 30%
NYU OK

So sorry to hear you've been caught in this situation. Unfortunately this does happen quite often (esp within certain fields), and below is the advice I was given by various people on this matter (and fortunately I never had to use any of it): 
(1) when someone asks you to write your own letter, it's usually 1 of 2 scenarios: EITHER the professor is from an education system (ie of another country) where writing your own letter is the norm, OR they're hinting to you that they don't know you that well / think highly of you / care about you enough to write a strong letter themselves. Think of alternative LOR writers now, if you can. If the professor is actually very eager to help you and simply isn't familiar with how LORs work, it's very helpful to meet with them face to face and explain how important it is that they put in some time to write this letter themselves - and always end the email with something like, "although having a strong letter from you would greatly help strengthen my application, you are in no way obligated, and I'm grateful for your guidance over the years as a wonderful instructor/advisor/whatever".
(2) never actually write your own "letter": it's okay to provide a list of bullet points that you'd like them to address, in particular if there are bad grades on your transcript that you'd like them to explain from a more convincing perspective. You can also send them your personal statement draft and resume, highlighting keywords/sentences that you'd like them to echo in their letter. Just don't write that letter yourself, if at all possible, for your own benefit. In fact it might be against certain academic integrity guidelines.
(3) sometimes if there's someone they know and trust (say a grad student/technician/post doc) who know you better and is more capable of writing you a strong, personalized letter, you can ask that person to write the draft and have them and the professor both co-sign the letter. However, I never did it so I don't know logistically how that could be done with each school's app system.
I know it's been two weeks and you might have already gotten somewhere with this - please let me know if I could be of more help.

Schools that I know are international friendly (in non-COVID times): UTSW, Sloan Kettering, Weill Cornell. Potentially also: WashU (Washington University in St. Louis) and UChicago. Harvard probably but I'm not sure about all bio programs.
UCs are notorious for being low on international admits. The year I applied UC Berkeley's website had a bolded line stating there are *very few* spots for international students. My undergrad PI spent 6 years as a post doc at Stanford and said he never saw a single international Immunology student - I have not fact-checked that myself.
Most school websites show international student %s somewhere. Below is the list I compiled for myself when I applied. Most numbers were for the specific program I applied to and not their entire biosciences. "OK" means >30% I think.
Stanford low
Harvard 34%
MIT OK
Yale 30%
WUSTL 30%
UCLA 20%
Columbia OK
UT SW OK
Baylor College of Medicine 33%
Sloan Kettering OK
Weill Cornell 46%
Einstein College of Medicine 30%
NYU OK

I'm from China and have been in the US for 6 years (college, gap year, now grad school). I've seen a similar thread on TGC and I actually posted a thread on my personal FB to get more responses from my American friends. It was quite a shocker to me how dating people of a different age group/life phase is frowned upon in the US. I personally see nothing wrong (meaning, neither morally wrong nor instinctively "creepy/gross") with socializing with or dating someone much younger/older, and tbh if I see a couple like that my first reaction would be "it's is so sweet and inspiring that they're working through their differences to be together".
I also feel that Americans think of college kids as "kids" way more than what I'm used to; I pretty much see everyone in higher education as a proper adult. Any relationship can be abusive, and a significant gap in a number of things (maturity, experience with dating, socioeconomic status) could make it more prone to turning bad, but if you're someone who will watch out for these things and are not in it to take advantage or be taken advantage of, then I wouldn't let any of those things ruin a good relationship. If you like fencing and the fencing club takes anyone from undergrad to faculty, I don't see why you can't go to the end-of-the-year BBQ just because there might be undergrads there. 
I do agree with some others on this thread that you'd need to consider (1) if you might ever hold unfair influence over someone due to academic/professional roles, and (2) how others may look at you in general. It doesn't necessarily mean you need to change how you pursue relationships, but rather to understand how it impacts how others see you.

Schools that I know are international friendly (in non-COVID times): UTSW, Sloan Kettering, Weill Cornell. Potentially also: WashU (Washington University in St. Louis) and UChicago. Harvard probably but I'm not sure about all bio programs.
UCs are notorious for being low on international admits. The year I applied UC Berkeley's website had a bolded line stating there are *very few* spots for international students. My undergrad PI spent 6 years as a post doc at Stanford and said he never saw a single international Immunology student - I have not fact-checked that myself.
Most school websites show international student %s somewhere. Below is the list I compiled for myself when I applied. Most numbers were for the specific program I applied to and not their entire biosciences. "OK" means >30% I think.
Stanford low
Harvard 34%
MIT OK
Yale 30%
WUSTL 30%
UCLA 20%
Columbia OK
UT SW OK
Baylor College of Medicine 33%
Sloan Kettering OK
Weill Cornell 46%
Einstein College of Medicine 30%
NYU OK

Some programs may be more willing to offer reimbursement if they know it's helping their own future student rather than someone still uncommitted. There are plenty of reasons to visit in person after accepting the offer, they just might not apply to you - checking out school facilities and connecting with individual PIs, checking out rental options, also seeing schooling and employment options if you're bringing family, etc.
I personally do not see most programs offering funding for visiting, unless it's stated somewhere in their recruitment agenda as an optional activity - or if they just really really want you specifically.

I don't know about biotech jobs. I think in academia UTSW is well-respected; people may debate about it being top 20, but I don't expect anyone to say it's an unknown or no-name school. I interviewed there and met multiple faculty members who did postdocs in or moved from other well-known places (the 2 examples I now explicitly remember were from UChicago and UCSF iirc). The school is less popular than it deserves science-wise, because people usually want to live on the coasts rather than in Texas. The specifics will depend on your specific area of study, and where (location-wise) you're hoping to get job offers from. I'd imagine UTSW is probably better recognized in Texas, but I could totally be wrong (in fact, I've been told that the further you are from Boston, the more impressive Harvard sounds lol). I don't really know if it'd be considered a near ivy, because I don't think people generally rank grad schools in "ivy" terms.
At the end of the day, if you do an amazing PhD under an advisor well-known in their field, and graduate with two first-author publications in Nature, the school's overall prestige becomes essentially irrelevant; in fact, it's you who then bring prestige to the school. If, however, you do a somewhat average PhD, then people will have to judge you by thinking "well their publications aren't amazing, but hey they did graduate from X". You probably already know this, but having it spelled out to me did make my mind clearer when I was considering grad school choices myself.
Anyway, congrats and enjoy your interviews!

I sent thank-you emails to all interviewers, usually the Mon/Tue after the interview weekend. Emailing the director wouldn't hurt either. Regardless, I'd say that the emails are just niceties and really wouldn't change your chances in most cases. Some admissions results come out super fast, so some of my emails actually ended up being sent after I got accepted lol

I'm in no way trying to take the joy of online shopping away from you, but just dropping in to say that when I did interviews (in person) I didn't wear any "business casual", and still to this day do not own a blazer lol. My go-to was knitted/sweater dresses in muted colors. I interviewed with 4 schools and was probably among the least dressed up for all of them. Ended up with offers from all 4 ?‍♀️

I sent thank-you emails to all interviewers, usually the Mon/Tue after the interview weekend. Emailing the director wouldn't hurt either. Regardless, I'd say that the emails are just niceties and really wouldn't change your chances in most cases. Some admissions results come out super fast, so some of my emails actually ended up being sent after I got accepted lol

I sent thank-you emails to all interviewers, usually the Mon/Tue after the interview weekend. Emailing the director wouldn't hurt either. Regardless, I'd say that the emails are just niceties and really wouldn't change your chances in most cases. Some admissions results come out super fast, so some of my emails actually ended up being sent after I got accepted lol

Essentially all US grad school offers have the same reply deadline from you (April 15th). There are exceptions, but generally that's the national deadline.
https://cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution

I think your chance of NOT getting in anywhere is pretty low. If you'd be truly happy to go to any of the schools you have listed, I think you're fine. If you're looking for more "international-friendly" schools, I recommend UTSW and Sloan Kettering. Also what areas within Biology are you thinking of?
BTW please check each program's funding info carefully. Even schools that normally would be able to take on international students may not be able to this cycle due to Covid. If anything is not clear I'd email program directors. (Back then I decided not to apply to Washington Immunology because their website said funding not guaranteed for international students, and their director replied to my email with not-the-greatest optimism.)
In terms of your GPA, I'd try to reach out to either upperclassmen who applied last cycle, or professors at UCLA who are on adcoms themselves. Most people who are happy to give advice will be honest and constructive.

I spoke with Penn at a conference yesterday. I can assure everyone that their biomedical graduate studies (BGS) program is accepting PhD students for the fall of 2021. The only program in A&S that ~may~ be affected is their Biology PhD. 
 
BGS is through their Perelman medical school which is why it's not being affected. 

I think you have a solid shot at the schools you listed; whether you're reaching too high depends on how important it is for you to go to grad school in 2021. Some people only apply to competitive programs because they simply wouldn't be willing to go anywhere else; maybe they have a good plan B and would rather apply again next cycle. If however you really want to get in *somewhere*, I'd personally add in some safer schools.
One school that was recommended to me that'd be easier to get in (especially for an international student) but still great for a PhD was UTSW; my interview experience there was overall positive as well. I think any good school in meh locations or with other non-scientific drawbacks would be less competitive and thus potential "safeties". Rule of thumb is you only apply to schools where you have at least 3 people you'd happily work with.
Also off of your list - I was at UChicago for college and am now at Harvard Immunology. Happy to answer any specific questions about these schools through DM. I don't work with mucosal immunology though so I may not be familiar with specific labs in that area, but happy to ask around.

I empathize with your struggles. Times are difficult and confusing right now. But I think you need to hear some tough love...
If you are struggling this much with your master's program, you will not struggle any less with a PhD program. Plus, starting a master's program and not completing it is PhD application suicide. Admission committees will see that as indication that you can't handle their program.
 In graduate school, you are expected to be mostly self-sufficient, with mentorship from your advisor. If you need extra help from your professors, it's your job to go to office hours. If you need a study group, set one up. If you can't understand a concept, look up youtube tutorials from professors at other schools. If you're not sure how to get the help you need, ask your advisor. 
Encouragement from professors is nice but your motivation should be coming from somewhere inside. 
Again, I'm not trying to be harsh, but it seems like you need a mindset adjustment more than you need a new program. 
I hope that helps a little, and good luck!

From my personal experience and anecdotal knowledge, I think it's pretty common for international students mostly due to lack of private funding at some less resourceful schools.
Also like you said, some of it is just arbitrary. I applied to both GSK and Weill Cornell, which have almost overlapping faculty because they used to run a joint program, and yet I was only invited to interview at GSK. And then one of the GSK interviewers started telling me about the differences between the two programs and how to choose between them, so I had to semi-awkwardly interrupt him and say I didn't get an interview for Cornell. Then he was like, "...I was away for the admissions meeting at Cornell, so something must have gone wrong..." Well I don't think anything went "wrong", I'm sure they made other great choices; it just goes to show that even missing one particular person on a meeting could make a big difference for quite a few applicants.

I'm from China and have been in the US for 6 years (college, gap year, now grad school). I've seen a similar thread on TGC and I actually posted a thread on my personal FB to get more responses from my American friends. It was quite a shocker to me how dating people of a different age group/life phase is frowned upon in the US. I personally see nothing wrong (meaning, neither morally wrong nor instinctively "creepy/gross") with socializing with or dating someone much younger/older, and tbh if I see a couple like that my first reaction would be "it's is so sweet and inspiring that they're working through their differences to be together".
I also feel that Americans think of college kids as "kids" way more than what I'm used to; I pretty much see everyone in higher education as a proper adult. Any relationship can be abusive, and a significant gap in a number of things (maturity, experience with dating, socioeconomic status) could make it more prone to turning bad, but if you're someone who will watch out for these things and are not in it to take advantage or be taken advantage of, then I wouldn't let any of those things ruin a good relationship. If you like fencing and the fencing club takes anyone from undergrad to faculty, I don't see why you can't go to the end-of-the-year BBQ just because there might be undergrads there. 
I do agree with some others on this thread that you'd need to consider (1) if you might ever hold unfair influence over someone due to academic/professional roles, and (2) how others may look at you in general. It doesn't necessarily mean you need to change how you pursue relationships, but rather to understand how it impacts how others see you.

Wasn't planning on applying to Penn, but they just announced all their Arts and Sciences PhD programs are not accepting applications this cycle

I think you have a solid shot at the schools you listed; whether you're reaching too high depends on how important it is for you to go to grad school in 2021. Some people only apply to competitive programs because they simply wouldn't be willing to go anywhere else; maybe they have a good plan B and would rather apply again next cycle. If however you really want to get in *somewhere*, I'd personally add in some safer schools.
One school that was recommended to me that'd be easier to get in (especially for an international student) but still great for a PhD was UTSW; my interview experience there was overall positive as well. I think any good school in meh locations or with other non-scientific drawbacks would be less competitive and thus potential "safeties". Rule of thumb is you only apply to schools where you have at least 3 people you'd happily work with.
Also off of your list - I was at UChicago for college and am now at Harvard Immunology. Happy to answer any specific questions about these schools through DM. I don't work with mucosal immunology though so I may not be familiar with specific labs in that area, but happy to ask around.

I'm from China and have been in the US for 6 years (college, gap year, now grad school). I've seen a similar thread on TGC and I actually posted a thread on my personal FB to get more responses from my American friends. It was quite a shocker to me how dating people of a different age group/life phase is frowned upon in the US. I personally see nothing wrong (meaning, neither morally wrong nor instinctively "creepy/gross") with socializing with or dating someone much younger/older, and tbh if I see a couple like that my first reaction would be "it's is so sweet and inspiring that they're working through their differences to be together".
I also feel that Americans think of college kids as "kids" way more than what I'm used to; I pretty much see everyone in higher education as a proper adult. Any relationship can be abusive, and a significant gap in a number of things (maturity, experience with dating, socioeconomic status) could make it more prone to turning bad, but if you're someone who will watch out for these things and are not in it to take advantage or be taken advantage of, then I wouldn't let any of those things ruin a good relationship. If you like fencing and the fencing club takes anyone from undergrad to faculty, I don't see why you can't go to the end-of-the-year BBQ just because there might be undergrads there. 
I do agree with some others on this thread that you'd need to consider (1) if you might ever hold unfair influence over someone due to academic/professional roles, and (2) how others may look at you in general. It doesn't necessarily mean you need to change how you pursue relationships, but rather to understand how it impacts how others see you.

I mean, the standard duration of a Bachelor's is 3 years in the UK, I can't imagine universities there having a problem with 3.5 years...
I feel finishing college early is seen as neutral to slightly positive in the US (as in, it took you less time to do the same amount of work, so you must be a studious and efficient student). The only downside is if you didn't take as many elective courses that would otherwise be relevant for the field you're trying to get into, or if you could have done a thesis research project but chose not to, etc.