How do I know what schools are within my reach for graduate school in math? When applying for undergraduate schools it was relatively easy to look up average ACT/SAT scores and GPAs of admittance to know if I would be a competitive applicant. As of right now I want to pursue a PhD in math and I'm struggling to know if a program is within my reach or not. Last year my grades tanked and I went from a 4.0 math GPA to now a 3.2 with a 3.5 overall. I'm working now to hopefully get that up and I'm planning on taking a year off after where I may stay in my undergraduate town to continue to take more classes to raise my GPA but either way I'll have a C and a BC on my transcript so I don't know which schools are within my reach if I get enough research experience/letters of recommendation and which I shouldn't even bother with.
If you can show real research potential (papers in one of the journals for undergraduate research, participation in research as an undergraduate) that will probably weigh more than raw GPA. A dip in grades is certainly worrisome, as it hints at losing interest. You'll have to have an explanation.