Help trimming down my list of schools

[starstuff]

I am applying to PhD programs in Cognitive/Behavioral Neuroscience this fall and need to cut a few programs off of my list. I love all of the programs on my list and have identified several faculty at each school who are great research fits, but to make it easier on my LORs I want to whittle my list of 12 schools down to... 10 (or 9?). I understand that there are no "safety schools" in PhD admissions, but I want to be reasonably confident that I will get in somewhere (without forsaking my chance at reach schools with perfect faculty matches).

I have a low GPA (a 3.0, though it is in a Neuroscience major at a strong, highly-ranked school known for grade deflation) and high GRE scores (750-800Q, 750-800V on new GRE; 720Q, 740V, 5.5W on old GRE). I also have 6 years of neuroscience research experience (4 years working 25-30 hrs/week as undergrad, and 2 years full-time post-bac).

How many schools is too much of a hassle for most LOR writers? How can I whittle down this list to 10 or 9 schools? Will Stanford, Columbia, NYU etc., simply see my GPA and toss my app in the "no" pile?

(Ordered by average quantitative GRE score of admitted students (a crude measure, I know)):

U Maryland- Baltimore

U Colorado - Boulder

U Illinois - Chicago

Oregon Health & Sciences

U Minnesota - Twin Cities

U Colorado - Denver

U Oregon

U Maryland - College Park

Georgetown

Columbia

NYU CNS

Stanford

[butterfingers2010]

If you are worried about the amount of work LOR writers have to do, you can always tell them that they can write the same letter for all the schools, provided the letter is addressed correctly. It also helps to be organized and make their life easier by provided stamped envelopes for the schools who want hard copies. For my letter writers I wrote a chart listing the program name, due date, and whether it should be sent by e-mail or postal mail.

I would say that since PhD programs are competitive you should apply to as many as you can afford to and as many as you can handle logistically speaking. Don't apply to so many schools that you end up submitting medicore apps just because you needed to get them all submitted. I originally had about 12 programs on my list. I narrowed them down based on location and then price of tuition vs. quality of the program. I am applying to master's programs, though, and if I were applying to PhD programs I would definitely cast a wider net by applying to more programs. I don't think a dozen schools is totally unreasonable, so long as you manage to do quality work on all of your applications.