bleistift

I am basically in the same situation you are in, except I basically already took option 1. I stayed an extra summer and fall semester at my undergraduate institution to complete a second thesis and pick up my third foreign language because I felt my history experience was lacking (I switched from an Electrical Engineering Computer Science major to History). Luckily I received a research fellowship and another academic scholarship, both of which funded my extra semester (I attend a public university and I had a great deal on a rent-controlled apartment so my expenses weren't very high to begin with). But even after the extra semester of research experience, additional time with my primary LOR writer, and an additional foreign language (important for international history applicants from what I understand), I can't gain admittance into a top-tier Ph.D. program. Admittedly I didn't earn another degree and I didn't stay the full year, but my feeling is that you've already built relationships with your professors at BC and there's not much you'd be gaining from option 1 other than personal satisfaction and practice at writing. I'm guessing you are probably already a superb writer, and I don't think you need another A.B. to prove that. My opinion is take the 2nd route if your only goal is to get a Ph.D. in history -- getting to know professors personally at a top-5 graduate program sounds like a better deal to me. Edit: And I forgot to mention, it kind of sucks staying an extra semester. All of my friends were earning big salaries, moving out to nice lofts in the city, buying new cars, and playing golf after work, while I was stuck in the library wishing I was on the driving range with them. In hindsight my extra semester was still worth it (especially since I didn't pay for it), but I think I would've made a better use of my time by graduating with my friends and moving on to a Master degree program.

Thanks for all the advice. An MA program looks a lot more attractive now. I'll try to hedge my bets by applying for outside fellowships as well. And jaw, thanks very much for the Columbia/LSE program link. I'm definitely going to apply for that.

Short story: Applied for 7 Ph.D. programs in East Asian/International history. Sort of got ahead of myself and only applied for 1 safety, which wasn't really a safety at all in hindsight. Rejected from all but 2, and I'm sure those 2 will be rejections as well (Harvard and Chicago...not easy pickings). I just finished undergrad and I will be starting a sweet job (salary wise, but it's completely unrelated to history or graduate studies), so I'm definitely re-applying next year. The question is, how do I improve my chances of admission? I've brainstormed some possibilities and was wondering what everyone else thought. - Apply to lower-tier schools (obviously). - Apply for an MA program. I'm hesitant about this one because I get the impression few Ph.D. programs give a lot of credit for MA coursework, and also I'd likely have to fund 2 years myself. So I see it as sacrificing 2 years and 60k in exchange for a better admissions chance, and I'm not sure this is a good bargain. - Network. My TA told me this over and over, but I was so swamped my last semester I could only reach out to professors at one school (aside from my own undergrad institution). I'm not much of a natural networker, so now that I have a year I was wondering if anyone had any particularly effective strategies? My enthusiasm and credentials are strong in my opinion, I just need a chance to show them. - Improve my hard skills. For a history candidate this pretty much means language. Unfortunately my language skills are already past the level available at my local community college, and I lack the funds to study abroad or attend an intensive language program again. - Change jobs to one that is relevant to history graduate studies. Ideally I'd like to work for a top 10 history program, in an administrative position (good for networking?), but these jobs are hard to find. Any ideas here? - Others? I'm open to any suggestions.