Help make a school list for Neuroscience PhD?

[GliaCells]

Hello,

I am wondering if folks here could help me in making a school list to apply to this coming Fall. I am having a very tough time figuring out a school list and any help would be greatly appreciated. I am looking to stay in the Northeast region.

Undergrad --> Cornell University; Spring 2017

GPA --> 3.1 (I partied way too much in my freshman and sophomore years. Was below 2.5 for those two years. Took a year off and got 3.5+ for the last two years.)

GRE --> 316 (158V, 158Q; 4.0A)

Personal facts --> Domestic male; Indian; first from the family to go to high school and college.

Research experience --> 2 years as a research tech. 1 first-authored paper currently under revision in The Journal of Neuroscience. 2 second-author published papers (one neuroscience in eNeuro, one immunology in Mucosal Immunology).

LOR --> Should have a very strong one from my current PI at my job. 2 pretty strong ones from undergrad professors I took classes with and did well.

Personal statement --> I would say pretty strong

 

As it's apparent, my GPA is holding me back. But I cannot fix my past, and I want to own up my mistakes. Any suggestions about how to make my application better + a school list to apply to would be very very helpful and will be forever indebted.