<p>PhD PIs want some one who will do solid research. Can you live & work near a solid mid-range master’s level university, volunteer with a professor in your area of interest, get his/her endorsement. This might allow you a probationary admission to a masters, even with your sub 3.0 GPA.</p>
<p>You would then need to prove yourself. Maybe you had a bad time in your freshman year so your GPA is bad? Maybe you had some sort of problem which distracted you and caused poor attendance and poor grades? The big question is WHY is your GPA low? And more importantly, have you fixed that?</p>
<p>If you can get into a solid mid-range Masters, then you have to ace the entire thing, all As, great teaching (if the campus allows/requires that), great research, great connections with your professors. Make them love you. THEN apply to PhD programs.</p>
<p>Simply put, you screwed up in undergrad, now prove you have fixed that problem, prove through a two year masters that you are stable and solid in this “new you,” prove that you are worth the risk to a PhD prof. He/she would be spending their funding money on you, they need to know you are not a waste of money and time.</p>