misery

Hey guys I'm a senior in biological engineering applying for PhD programs. Obviously there is lots of doubt and uncertainty as to if I will get in anywhere for PhD programs so I've decided to apply for Master's programs as well. On the other hand, I know that when you are not offered PhD you are "sometimes' offered admission to MS or Meng. Should I apply separately(pay double the app fees) or do schools generally give you admission to Meng or MS when, of course, you are qualified for those? Thanks lots!

Point taken. To be more elaborate; 1) I bombed my GPA during sophomore year. But in my junior year when I took many of major related courses, I kept the average GPA above 3.7 and hoping to do the same this semester and hopefully that will look good. 2) I am interested in genetic/metabolic engineering, but trying to broaden my horizon(looking closely at biosensors/microfluidics area). I feel very limited in experience/exposure to a lot of things. Are people generally very knowledgeable/experienced in the specific subfield they apply to? or can a newbie pick things up along the way and do they have chance at getting accepted? I'm right in the middle of the forest, so I can't see it wholly. I may be missing/forgetful about the most obvious things, so any general comments would be appreciate too. Thanks a lot guys/have a goooood long weekend.

Hey all, Yes, this is another chance thread where you smart nerds can talk some sense into me, the miserably confused one. I'm a senior majoring in bioengineering/biomedical engineering at an ivy. GPA is 3.5/4.0, GRE is 640v 800q 4.0W and have spent all summers working at a biochem lab and plant pathology lab and this year at a bioengineering lab. Unfortunately, I didn't get to publish anything yet. Thing is I didn't really like research before til I joined my current lab and I got to work on a cool rewarding project that is still ongoing. As for rec letters, I think I can get a great one from current professor, another decent one from a prof whose course I did very well in, and a mediocre/lukewarm one from my faculty advisor (he doesn't know me well) I'm currently scheming through the faculty profiles/research interests at many schools but honestly I haven't got an idea of where I stand in the pool of brilliant kids. Do I have any chance at the Top 10 grad schools in the field? What kind of schools could be said to be a "match" for me? looking forward to some brutally honest comments. thanks y'all.