PhD in Aerospace Eng?

[tcable7127]

Here's my dilema,

I have my BS in mechanical eng. and I'm about to start my MS work in mechanical engineering with a focus in turbomachinery. For my PhD I want to do Aerospace engineering and have my research focus on turbomachinery applications in aerospace propulsion (i.e. axial jet engines). The problem is that the only programs I've found that do research on this stuff are the top universities in the nation... MIT, GATech, and Stanford all have programs with similar research to my interests, and great Aerospace Departments. MIT definitely matches me the best, but it's obviously extremely tough to get into.

My UGPA is not good (3.05), and I'm thinking that will prove to be my downfall when applying to these programs even if I do really well during my MS work. Does anyone know of any other programs that specialize in my research interests? Purdue and Texas A&M kind of do (I'm doing my MS at A&M), but A&M doesn't have a great Aero department and Purdue doesn't exactly fit my research interests. I've googled this topic to death and I've researched the top 20 Aero programs in the nation but haven't found anywhere else so any help would be appreciated, thanks!