I would love some advice/perhaps brutal honesty on my profile. I'm quote concerned about my chance of admission.
UGGPA: 3.1 from a top liberal arts college -- double major if it matters
MS GPA: 3.8 from an average state university
GRE: 169V/164Q/5.0
Other: first-generation, domestic
2 first-author pubs
1 middle author pub
1 first author and 1 middle author in the works
3 years working in a research lab with well known PI
I've contacted PIs from each university I plan to apply to and have had Zoom meetings with each (~40mins). All said that they would love to have me in their lab or I would be a great addition. As silly as it may be, I feel like I am duping them though, since they don't yet know my less-than-stellar UG GPA.
I spent a long time finding PIs with very similar research experience to my own and (I think) have written a fairly specific statement-of-intent outlining my research questions and ideas. Any advice on anything else I can do to hopefully make-up for that 3.1? Also, I'm being realistic, so I'm planning to apply to mid-tier programs.
Thanks!