TomServo

You need to do some soul searching. You sound unhappy with the school that accepted you, but I suspect at least part of it is due to the shock of the results and the way people react to your decision, not really because of objective factors. You need to decide if you could be happy going to that school and it if can give you the kind of education you want (are you funded, btw?). A poor placement record is a concern not to be taken lightly..Is it based on how recent graduates are doing or on less recent statistics?

Your credentials sound like you should have done better than you have--do you know what went wrong? That will be key in deciding whether it's worth reapplying next year. Can you get feedback from places that rejected you so you'll know which parts of the app to work on (maybe you didn't do a good job talking about your past work or connecting in to your future goals? Maybe a one of your letter writers gave you a bad rec)? Does your thesis adviser have an idea why you weren't as successful as you anticipated? It does sound like you did everything right preparation-wise, so I'd be wary of reapplying without having a clear idea of what to improve next year.

Chinese takeout.

Definitely switch. Let your current institution know you are transferring because B is a much better fit.

Definitely switch. Let your current institution know you are transferring because B is a much better fit.

There are very convenient lofts near campus - LL Sams but it's a mix of undergrad and grad and I've heard complaints of echoes. There's Waco Loft Living that has 3-4 different properties. If you want no undergrads and just "adults" I would look to the suburbs: Hewitt, Woodway, Lacy-Lakeview, Robinson, etc. I've had friends in all of those areas- though the farther out you go, the more likely you'll get a house instead of an apt/condo for what you'd pay but they're usually older homes or country (though there are some rental home developments in Lacy-Lakeview that are Texas-modern, stained concrete floors and Texas star in the porch flooring).

I left a masters program in history to work in medical research a few years ago. It's not true that people who leave humanities programs won't be qualified for other things. I think a lot of people interested in academia underestimate the other types of jobs out there that they could be happy doing. One of my classmates in public health works in digital records management now, which is a really interesting growing field. I still do journal research, write papers and presentations, and read and summarize primary sources most of the time-- my primary sources just happen to be medical records now.
 
Even in many STEM fields there are many grant-funded positions, and I think anyone pursuing this path, in any field, needs to think seriously about what they would be qualified to do if they're ever unwilling or unable to keep that funding ball in the air. If you'd be happy with your backup plan, but the completed PhD will make it harder to sell yourself there (e.g. by making you look less sincerely interested in that career path), then whatever stipend you earned as a student isn't worth it.
 
I'd also like to add that the constant "oh well, long-term poverty will be worth it to follow my dream" comments that I see on these boards come off as very naive and privileged. Poverty isn't a romantic, ascetic condition, and short-term graduate student poverty is very different from long-term poverty with few marketable skills, as you grow older and your support network thins. Not only is it off-putting to employers, including academic ones, who want skills, not "passion", it's insulting to other people reading who have actually experienced poverty or plan to use their luck and talents to ameliorate it.