Should I apply for more safety schools?

[jiyluv]

Hey all,

 

I have been recently active in the GRE forums in trying to get my GRE scores down. Now that I have finished it, I have to start drilling down on my schools to apply for; but I keep on getting the impression that I have applied to way too many schools above my possibilities.

 

Of course, since the school wants money, they will tell people (like me) to apply anyways instead of giving me an honest answer.

 

Therefore I come to you guys for help- any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

My current profile is:

 

Undergrad student in US, with 3.48/4 gpa, at Rochester Institute of Tech

GRE 560/770/4.5+

Asian, US citizen (would this matter?)

have some research experience, but no published papers or journals

good rec letters from professors of diff universities (tho not from famous colleges)

have work experience from 4 different industries pertaining to Engineering (all 3 months- req by school)

 

now here are my rundown of schools I am applying for:

 

Princeton EE

JHU (EE and BME)

Purdue BME

Columbia EE

Harvard BME

Duke EE

Upenn EE

Washu EE

Yale EE

Boston U BME

U of Wisconsin EE

 

Wondering if I should do or not:

Penn State BME

Carnegie Mellon EE

Upitt

 

I am planning for a PhD research venue in Biomedical MEMS research.

Am I aiming too high? What are my chances?

Can you guys suggest me any good safety schools in my level, in my research venue?

 

Any opinions, including brutally honest opinions, are welcome as well!

I appreciate your help in advance.

 

Sam