Good luck as you finish up undergrad during these trying times! It is difficult for most recent grads to get into a PhD program right away. I know this is not necessarily comforting, but you are not alone in that. As for what to do next, if you're concerned with finances I suggest keeping up the effort to find a research gig. If that means working a side hustle to "volunteer" for a few months, so be it. But only do this if this will guarantee you a position (I'm very nervous about this 'work for free' culture). Ideally, though, you would get a paid position in a research lab at a University (psych would be awesome, but really any lab will do), and use their employee tuition discounts to take courses (either degree-seeking or non-degree seeking) to get your GPA up. If you don't get into a psych lab, you can always apply after gaining experience in a different department, making you a better candidate.
Personally I would do this first instead of a master's, because then you can get paid, gain experience, potentially be eligible for massive employee tuition discounts, and get more and more eligible for PhD programs in the next few years.
For context - I am about to turn 28. I got my master's right out of college (paid for with stipend luckily), but now have had to work for 3 years in a bachelor's-level research position anyways. I often think it would have been better to start out here instead of continuing my education just because I didn't think I was ready to join the work force (I totally was though). Also, age is just a number. I used to be scared to be in a grad program in my 30s but like...I'm going to turn 30 someday anyways. May as well be pursuing something I am wholly passionate about when I do.
There are also a few funded masters programs that serve as pretty good pipelines to PhDs. Wake Forest is probably the biggest one, but I think Villanova and William and Mary also provide funding. If you search this forum, there have been people discussing them in past threads. Those are the 3 I remember off the top of my head.
So I also haven’t taken on a masters because the financial stress isn’t something I can feasibly do. I won’t say it’s been easy but it’s been doable. I already had a job throughout undergrad that was able to accommodate my schedule and when I got a volunteer position at a research lab my paying job continued to be flexible with me. While doing this won’t increase your GPA it will increase your experience and I think you can get into programs even with your GPA. I think the trick is to sell yourself in the right light. Sucky things happen!!! Sometimes it’s our GPA. sometimes it’s lack of a masters.
