How to maximize my chances of getting admission to a particular graduate program despite a low GPA?

The application page for your course says that a first-class honours degree is the minimum entry requirement. In the American grading system, I imagine this corresponds to 3.5+. As a guide, approximately the top 20% of students in the UK get a first. Were you in the top 20% at your college? Bearing in mind that LSE admits 145 people from 1,115 applicants for this course alone, I'd suggest you ring up the LSE admissions office and ask how many students they've admitted in previous years with <3.5 GPAs. I don't want to be negative, but if they say they haven't admitted any, I'd suggest cutting your losses and going with your Plan B. If they say you still have a realistic chance, great! Either way, best of luck to you.

Are you an American? My girlfriend is getting her BSc in economics from Warwick and has the same plan on pursuing a PhD. Her advisors say she has good chances to get into an MSc program at Oxbridge or LSE, but that it'd be a better idea to go for an MSc program in Canada if she wants to eventually do a PhD in the US. They said US admissions committees would generally be more familiar with Canadian schools, that the profs would have better knowledge of each other - and that it'd be a lot cheaper to boot! Maybe you should keep our friendly northern neighbors in mind when applying for master's programs, eh?

US admissions committees would generally be more familiar with Canadian schools More familiar than LSE? Not likely. More familiar than Warwick? Yes. Oxford, Cambridge, LSE have cachet in US academics; other British schools are much more chancy.

I have a British MA and am now getting an American PhD (and I'm an American citizen). It was fast, which was good, but it was expensive. Looking back on it, I sorta wished I hadn't shelled out the cash to live in London for a year to get that MA. Although I LOVED London, that was $40k or so in debt that I could have saved by going to a funded MA/PhD combo program. I saved a year of my life, sure, but if you have a good GPA in your econ course and since you have a fine GRE score, why not apply to funded American Econ MA programs (and there are some) and then go to a funded PhD? Or better yet, why not apply to a join program?

Monica Lewinsky just graduated from LSE. Is that relevant to your situation? Maybe. I don't konw what her grades were like, but she didn't have a stellar reputation to get her in there. She either had really outstanding grades or they were impressed by her http://www.thereal-monica.com/. You really should beef up your resume with some work experience, writing, etc. If you're willing to do anything to get into the program, taking out loans is the least of your problems. Most student--at least in the U.S.--take out loans. You have to make yourself more attractive to the admissions person/committee/department.

I have to comment on the Canadian suggestion. Canadian baccalaureate programs are not equivalent to US baccalaureate programs. I don't know if that holds true for graduate programs. Non-US transcripts must be professionally evaluated and that can cost around $250-$300. If the OP decides on an out of country degree program, please factor in the cost of translating transcripts as well as the unpleasant reality that the degree may not be recognized for full value at the next school. A student I am familiar with has a biology BS degree from Canada that was only found to be equivalent to 2.5 years of a US BS program when professionally evaluated.

LSE's econ program is tough to get in to, but some of their other Taught MAs aren't so tough. My UK transcript has a second page that explains the grading system.

The GRE scores are fine but your GPA shows a lack of discipline and/or attention to your studies. That's how admissions staff at any school will see it. Beefing up your resume with solid work experience and perhaps some published research will help, but top programs like LSE, Harvard, MIT, McGill, etc. are concerned with scholarship and little else. Perhaps you should set your sights a little lower. To achieve what you have outlined would be very difficult if you have not spent a lifetime preparing. And even if you could get in to the LSE, which you almost assuredly cannot, a phd from an Ivy league college will not get you close to a tenured position at a prestigious university. A lifetime of scholarship, research, and and contribution to your field will be the only thing that qualifies you for a post such as the one you describe and even then it will take a lifetime of politicking to gain tenure in even a third rate economics program. I hate to be such a downer, but you need to hear this. You should apply to the best programs you think you can get in to. But be realistic. If you excel, even in a not-so "prestigious" program, make the right connections, and have an opportunity to contribute to meaningful published work in your field then you can get in any program in the country. Good luck in the dismal science. Oh, also I'm not sure what you mean by a "math deficiency" but if you're struggling with the mathematics yet excelling with economic theory, might I suggest political economy? Less mathematically rigorous and right up your ally if you have taken a liking to development issues.

BTW, since you're interested in Development Economics, may I recommend the MA in Development at http://www.soas.ac.uk? The Econ was SERIOUS there! It may not lead to a career in academia, but you'll be able to get into with your GPA for sure.