rising_star

I have no clue but, I'm available for hire!

You could have your rec letters on file with Interfolio (or perhaps even Chronicle's Vitae?) but there are some downsides to that approach. The biggest downside is that your letters won't be tailored to the department/program and your POI because your letter writers would be submitting one, more generic letter to be used in support of all of your applications. The other major downside is the cost. Interfolio charges each time you have a letter sent out, which adds on to the already expensive cost of applying.

Conference presentations aren't really that important in the grand scheme of things. Especially if you're only doing it because you're concerned about how your CV will work to others.

It only took me about 20 seconds of skimming to know that A is the better choice for you based on what you're outlined. The part St Andrews Lynx quoted above is precisely what stood out to me too when I read your whole post.

What's your undergrad degree in? I would read some critiques of Teach for America before deciding to go that route...

Honestly, it won't matter whether or not the position involves the research. The key will be getting a job where you can use and further develop your CS skills. The idea is to distance yourself from your GPA through years of work, not necessarily to do some sort of cool research project while working. You should be thinking about research fit, in addition to things like the GPA requirements of universities. Going to the only program that will take you only to discover that they don't do any research you're interested in would mean that the application process was a huge waste of both your time and your money.

THIS! I'm friends with a few people from my cohort (and a couple more from the cohorts above and below mine) but a lot of the close friends I had by the end of my PhD program were people I hadn't met through grad school. I met them through joining a martial arts club, going to Meetups, joining my friend's trivia team (which led to meeting the others on that team and then their friends over time), etc. A lot of people use church or sports clubs to meet people. There was a trivia team in our town whose name was "We Met on Reddit" (aka, they didn't know each other but used Reddit to connect and make a trivia team). If your social anxiety is really overwhelming AND you're worried that it's hurting you as a person/professional, you may want to talk to a therapist to learn coping mechanisms and/or meet with a psychiatrist to see about whether anti-anxiety medication would be helpful for you. Academia is a career path which requires moving around, not being near family/friends, and finding a way to make that work. If that's the path you plan to pursue, then you should start figuring out how to be happy doing so sooner rather than later. Not going back to school because you'd rather be close to your friends and family may only be delaying the inevitable.

Though I don't think you should take as many classes as you can, I do think @AP is right about the importance of networking and building connections with colleagues, which often happens through coursework. Early in my grad program, we'd send each other newly published articles and books related to one another's topic (to be collegial and make sure others had seen them), discussed ideas about our projects during the breaks in seminars, etc. If you're not in class with people, you're going to have to work a lot harder to make those relationships. This reminded me a few other things. There were/are professors in my PhD program that won't agree to be on your dissertation committee unless you have taken a class with them (and I know my program is not alone in this regard as I've heard about it being the case for my friends). You'll also want to think about your comprehensive/qualifying exams and make sure that you have all of the relevant coursework to pass those on the first try. Some grad seminars are basically training for the comps so taking those could be to your advantage even if you could otherwise opt out of coursework.

Transferring from one PhD program to another is generally not possible. It requires applying alongside all other prospective applicants and it's unlikely that the coursework or research you've done at the first program will count at the second one. An academic job may be possible depending on the type of job you're looking for and where you're willing to live but it will definitely be a difficult since getting an academic position is difficult for those at programs in the top 100.

What are your research interests within psychology? Are there people at each (or even any) of the schools in Florida who would be a good fit for your research interests? Without knowing that, it's impossible to say anything more than "anyone has a chance at getting in". Research fit is key when it comes to Ph.D. programs so narrowing your goal to a single state without considering that is not a good application strategy/approach.

Honestly, a summer of research isn't going to outweigh a GPA less than 3.0. You would probably be better off gaining work experience in the field and using that to show your commitment to doing research and pursuing a graduate degree. Trying to go straight from undergrad to grad school with minimal research experience and a low GPA is going to make it difficult to get into any program, even those that are less selective.

If the coursework you would be doing is irrelevant to your interests, why are you planning to do this master's program, rather than one more suited to what you're actually interested in? Is it because is one you think will be easier to get into? (FWIW, I'd say the climate change stuff should be and is related to your broader interests but the sustainability courses seem less related.) What led you to this course? Have you investigated others where you can take courses you're actually interested in and which are more related to your interests?

Honestly, I wouldn't rush to get a publication out before the applications are due. It's unlikely you can get anything accepted between now and most December deadlines (usually you submit, are asked to revise, you resubmit, etc., which can take months). Publications don't make or break an application, especially in the humanities where they aren't the norm or even expected (even of those coming from MA programs). Instead, I would focus on preparing a strong application, including an amazing writing sample and SOP. If it happens that your writing sample is something you can also submit to a journal, great. But focusing on conferences or publications may mean your application isn't as strong as it could be.

Will it wreck your application? No. But the real question you should be asking yourself is how these recommendation letters will help/strengthen your application? Right now, it doesn't sound like they will. Do you have anyone that can talk about your research experience? About the MOOCs and other self-taught stuff you've done and why? Are there any professors from your introductory programming courses who could write you a solid letter? Could you take a CS course or two in person and wait a year to apply to master's programs? Doing so might give you the chance to shore up your background in CS and get solid rec letters. In addition, I'd encourage you not to blindly apply to school that have formal CS prereqs. If you want to apply, you should contact the Director of Graduate Studies to find out if your application would even be considered so you aren't wasting your money.

I would definitely ask, as this can be advisor specific. When I started my PhD program, I planned to transfer in credit for the "History of the [Disciplinary] Thought" and "[Disciplinary] Theory" courses because I'd taken them in my MA program and they were taught with a similar approach and overlapping readings. However, my advisor teaches/taught those courses and encouraged/told me that I would be taking them again, in part because they were the program's only required courses and it was a way for me to bond with my cohort. Was I happy about it at the time? Not really. But, I did learn things I hadn't already known, some of which helped influence my research, and gained better social connections with members of my cohort.

One email with your interests isn't going to be enough to get them to say "Oh hey, I need to be on the lookout for virtua's application!" when they're handed a stack of 100 applications to read with a tight deadline. Think of it this way instead. If you want someone to notice your application, make sure your application stands out and is memorable (for its excellence, obviously), rather than trying to somehow game your way through the system.

I get emails like that all the time and they are almost always already in my spam folder. If you don't know any big name academics attending, don't go. If in doubt, run the idea of attending/presenting by more senior grad students in your department or your advisor.

Can you write about the models and their development, rather than trying to write about the results produced by the model?

Wait, we just went from $50K to $150K of debt? For the record, I'm not saying a master's degree is always a bad idea but, in your particular situation, striped, I'm also not convinced taking on that much debt is a good idea. (Also, I did a funded master's, so I clearly am not opposed to the idea.) If you really think a master's in anthropology is necessary to get into PhD programs (and it's definitely not if you look at the CV/websites of current anthro PhD students, most of whom pick up the MA along the way to the PhD), then why not do as knp has suggested and try to find one which offers at least some funding? If, for example, you establish (or already have) California residency, the in-state tuition rate would enable you to work toward a master's for WAY less than $50-150K in debt, particularly if you did a master's in the Cal State system. So I guess the questions I'm still left with are why is it LSE, Cornell, or bust to you? What do those two programs have to offer that you literally could not gain any other way? FWIW, I think you (and anyone else looking to apply) could gain a lot by doing a ton of independent reading in and around your research area while taking a gap year (or two or three). A PhD program is intense and having that break beforehand is actually really helpful (which is also why adcoms tend not to accept people straight out of undergrad). Why are you so reluctant to pursue this path? Why is it so urgent for you to start a master's program this fall, rather than waiting to find one that is the right fit for what you need?

Well, you could look for research positions that involve qualitative work, whether in anthro or in another field. If you put "qualitative research" in as a keyword on indeed.com, you will get literally hundreds of results. If you're gaining research experience through your job, you will necessarily start to refine your research interests by figuring out some of your likes and dislikes. And, instead of being $50K in debt, you'll be making money. Doing a master's program isn't necessarily going to provide you with direction, especially a 1 year program that is going to go by very, very quickly. You're trying to use the MSc as a crutch, rather than doing the critical work on your own. There's lots of advice on these forums about what you need to be doing. You could also be trying to reach out to faculty and grad students at institutions you may want to attend so that you can get a sense of what they did or what they'd recommend. Also, since you're going to need rec letters from your undergrad at some point, why not talk to the faculty there? There must be at least one professor who remembers you and who you could email about this stuff? Spending $50K to get advice and guidance you could get for free would be foolish.

If you're looking at MBA programs, you'll need to take the GMAT in all likelihood.

Thanks for the update, @compscian. I'm glad you've found a workable solution. Good luck!

The 1 year study program isn't necessarily going to advance your goals. I wish @knp would come around to offer you some advice but, my general sense is that very, very few people get admitted to graduate programs in anthropology (esp. sociocultural) without taking a few years off. There are plenty of things you could be doing in the meantime, like gaining qualitative research experience, doing fieldwork, improving your language skills, and taking a course or two at a local university in the evenings or whenever your work schedule allows. That's the way that I would go if I were in your shoes. Taking on $50K of debt and then being in grad school for several more years will mean that you'll have some serious financial constraints when you finish your graduate education.

I would go to higheredjobs.com and look at the job ads for academic advisors, career counselors, etc. and see what degrees they are specifically interested in. That would be more helpful to you than asking as bunch of strangers on the internet.

In addition to tuition, you'll want to keep in mind that London is an expensive city to live in. I'd guess that you'd easily spend $20K on living expenses (though that may change depending on what happens with the British pound). Why are you interested in a 1 year MA? How do you think that will strengthen your application? I ask because a 1 year program doesn't give you a chance to strengthen your research skills, engage in fieldwork, or some of the other things that anthro PhD students do so I'm not sure why you'd do one. You'll also probably need a gap year between completing the LSE program and starting a PhD program, unless you're planning to reapply to PhD programs during your first term at LSE (and, if so, then nothing you do at LSE will count toward your admissions since you won't have actually done it yet...).