I didn't apply to any schools that required the GRE which I think hurt my chances, need something to set myself apart I think. And yeah, I totally get what you are saying about applying to safety schools, but I also want to go to a school that's a good fit for me at the end of the day. If it's a safety school, I've already deemed it to not be what I want in my mind, so I think its just not the right choice. To be fair, I actually got into medical school this year but wanted to give neuroscience PhD a shot as I love research and have worked in research for the last 5 years. So, it's not like I'm stuck or anything. Just wish this would've worked out so I could really explore research as a lifelong career.