College shortlist help

[ComplexRat]

Hello all. I am new here and I am applying to US grad schools for autumn 2025. I am an international student from India and I am a tad bit confused and need a little bit of guidance. I have a M.Sc degree in Biology with 3.0 GPA out of 4 and I was planning to do a PhD in neuroscience or metabolic disorders or somewhat related fields. I had 2 summer internships and have one 6 months thesis wet lab experience in biology. Can you guys tell me what colleges I can aim for, it has been a bit confusing as application fees are high and I want to maximise my chances of getting in. Thank you.

[compneuroer]

It's a good question -- it may be a bit late for this now, but if you have specific professors in mind that you want to work with, maybe you can narrow your list of colleges down based on those professors? A masters and 1 years research experience is pretty solid but not a crazy amount. 

[Argybargy]

There are a lot of great programs that people overlook. The trick is to get into a good lab with decent funding and be successful as a PhD student. You will be doing one or more post-docs afterward and those are what will make your career.