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It's not simply that the school = intelligence, but also professionalism. Ivy league students get groomed for academia from a young age, learning from the leading scholars in the field. That experience goes a long way in helping them develop the personal connections, social manners, and the professional skills to write research papers and statements of purpose which fit the academy's requirements. 

It's not simply that the school = intelligence, but also professionalism. Ivy league students get groomed for academia from a young age, learning from the leading scholars in the field. That experience goes a long way in helping them develop the personal connections, social manners, and the professional skills to write research papers and statements of purpose which fit the academy's requirements. 

One way you can get started is to survey the academic field by studying the faculty of the top-tier universities. Literally read every professor's profile and begin to take note of those whose work strikes you as interesting at all. You will begin to get a sense of how the field works, what are the subfields (political, social, cultural history, etc.), what methods of research are popular, what topics are hot. You should do this because, if you're serious about academia, your goal is to get a position like theirs down the road. 
I think one of the biggest mistakes people tend to make on these forums is to fixate too much on their stats. Stats have almost nothing to do with intellectual work. They may show you are hard working and bright, but without real research interests you will not develop into a scholar. And this is what professors are on the look out for in applications, they want to see whether your sense of what research is and how it is done is coherent and interesting and shows potential for real work in the future. So, as others have stressed above, you need to eventually find a focus in the historical field and start taking steps towards becoming an expert. That usually means, first and foremost, getting familiarity with the primary sources and whatever languages you need to read those sources, as well as studying the historical context of the period. Since you still have so much time, it would be great to acquire a breadth of knowledge about various fields, and wait to choose a particular focus by the end of your BA so that you can develop the relevant skills and write relevant research papers during your MA.
That said, you can find good internships and research positions over the summer by talking to professors. The internet can sometimes be a great place for this sort of thing, but in this case, having a conversation with a few different professors about this would actually be much more helpful because they will know what is a prestigious position and also of opportunities that might not be posted publicly, and they can also give you advice or make you think about things you don't know to think about. That's another way of taking a step towards professionalization. 

One way you can get started is to survey the academic field by studying the faculty of the top-tier universities. Literally read every professor's profile and begin to take note of those whose work strikes you as interesting at all. You will begin to get a sense of how the field works, what are the subfields (political, social, cultural history, etc.), what methods of research are popular, what topics are hot. You should do this because, if you're serious about academia, your goal is to get a position like theirs down the road. 
I think one of the biggest mistakes people tend to make on these forums is to fixate too much on their stats. Stats have almost nothing to do with intellectual work. They may show you are hard working and bright, but without real research interests you will not develop into a scholar. And this is what professors are on the look out for in applications, they want to see whether your sense of what research is and how it is done is coherent and interesting and shows potential for real work in the future. So, as others have stressed above, you need to eventually find a focus in the historical field and start taking steps towards becoming an expert. That usually means, first and foremost, getting familiarity with the primary sources and whatever languages you need to read those sources, as well as studying the historical context of the period. Since you still have so much time, it would be great to acquire a breadth of knowledge about various fields, and wait to choose a particular focus by the end of your BA so that you can develop the relevant skills and write relevant research papers during your MA.
That said, you can find good internships and research positions over the summer by talking to professors. The internet can sometimes be a great place for this sort of thing, but in this case, having a conversation with a few different professors about this would actually be much more helpful because they will know what is a prestigious position and also of opportunities that might not be posted publicly, and they can also give you advice or make you think about things you don't know to think about. That's another way of taking a step towards professionalization. 

One way you can get started is to survey the academic field by studying the faculty of the top-tier universities. Literally read every professor's profile and begin to take note of those whose work strikes you as interesting at all. You will begin to get a sense of how the field works, what are the subfields (political, social, cultural history, etc.), what methods of research are popular, what topics are hot. You should do this because, if you're serious about academia, your goal is to get a position like theirs down the road. 
I think one of the biggest mistakes people tend to make on these forums is to fixate too much on their stats. Stats have almost nothing to do with intellectual work. They may show you are hard working and bright, but without real research interests you will not develop into a scholar. And this is what professors are on the look out for in applications, they want to see whether your sense of what research is and how it is done is coherent and interesting and shows potential for real work in the future. So, as others have stressed above, you need to eventually find a focus in the historical field and start taking steps towards becoming an expert. That usually means, first and foremost, getting familiarity with the primary sources and whatever languages you need to read those sources, as well as studying the historical context of the period. Since you still have so much time, it would be great to acquire a breadth of knowledge about various fields, and wait to choose a particular focus by the end of your BA so that you can develop the relevant skills and write relevant research papers during your MA.
That said, you can find good internships and research positions over the summer by talking to professors. The internet can sometimes be a great place for this sort of thing, but in this case, having a conversation with a few different professors about this would actually be much more helpful because they will know what is a prestigious position and also of opportunities that might not be posted publicly, and they can also give you advice or make you think about things you don't know to think about. That's another way of taking a step towards professionalization. 

I think it's best to treat the MA application as if it were a PhD application in that you should demonstrate in it your seriousness and the depth of interests as well as your understanding of the particular department in which you want to study. I believe the application should be explicit in saying that the MA will serve as preparation for the PhD. By doing that you will prove that you know what you are doing and are not idly stumbling into the profession, but rather that you are attempting to take careful steps towards developing intellectually and professionally before embarking on your doctoral research.
That said, as far as I know from friends in the field (which is a small number of people), it is not absolutely necessary to get in contact with POIs and name them in your statement of purpose when applying to the MA. But I think it is a good idea and it is better to err on the side of overdoing your effort in the application. And, the writing sample, LOR, and SOP are just as important as in the PhD application, especially if you hope to get some kind of funding. You should always be aiming to impress the committee as much as you can!
 

I think it's best to treat the MA application as if it were a PhD application in that you should demonstrate in it your seriousness and the depth of interests as well as your understanding of the particular department in which you want to study. I believe the application should be explicit in saying that the MA will serve as preparation for the PhD. By doing that you will prove that you know what you are doing and are not idly stumbling into the profession, but rather that you are attempting to take careful steps towards developing intellectually and professionally before embarking on your doctoral research.
That said, as far as I know from friends in the field (which is a small number of people), it is not absolutely necessary to get in contact with POIs and name them in your statement of purpose when applying to the MA. But I think it is a good idea and it is better to err on the side of overdoing your effort in the application. And, the writing sample, LOR, and SOP are just as important as in the PhD application, especially if you hope to get some kind of funding. You should always be aiming to impress the committee as much as you can!
 

The Warburg Institute and the Courtauld Institute of Art offer excellent MA programs in Renaissance studies. They are both based in London.

In terms of deciding what you're interested in, a really great way to get insight into this is to write a senior thesis - not because that thesis will reflect the exact type of work that you'll do later on, but because you'll learn about the process of working on a sustained question, and you'll find yourself drawn to certain texts, questions, debates etc -- writing that thesis made all the difference, for me. As a sophomore, you might just want to start thinking about what excites you, and what you'd be willing to spend a year or a semester (depending on your school) thinking/reading/writing about. 

OP-
I would step back and ask yourself, why a history PhD? Why NYC specifically?  Why those schools in particular and why not CUNY (which is respectable) or Princeton?  Also consider the fact that graduate stipends at those places aren't high enough to afford you to live in Manhattan unless you're willing to room with 2-3 other people in an apartment.
You need to think of yourself as a historian and with whom you would like to learn from.
Indeed, where you get your MA won't matter as much as making sure you that you graduate from a program as close to debt-free as possible.  While it is a good goal to have those schools in mind, be mindful that if you are serious about the PhD, you will apply to 5-8 PhD programs including NYU and Columbia.  Don't put all of your eggs in one nest (NYC).  Get a solid MA degree and GPA and see where life takes you.

Maybe the rankings are garbage (whatever is defined as garbage), but as a first-gen, low-income, nontraditional student of color, the satisfaction of being accepted into a highly-ranked program is considerable. And obtaining a degree from a highly-ranked program gives us POC students a boost when our presence in academia and our credentials are often marginalized, undermined, and viewed with skepticism.

This thread is so out of hand / absurd. Did someone actually just tell on someone to the President of Brown? Is this real life? Did Grad Cafe ever exist or is it some bizarro nightmare that we collectively dreamt up in the months we've spent losing our minds over acceptances and rejections. 

You're blowing off guidance from Omid Safi for an entirely different field (a point made clear in mb's post, twice) after you've done how much coursework as a graduate student in any field?

It might be helpful for you to identify what kinds of sources you are interested in studying and to decide on the languages you need from there. Are the 16- and 17th-century texts on prostitution, witchcraft, etc. you're interested in written in Latin or the vernacular? The language requirements exist, at least essentially, to demonstrate your ability to execute the particular kind of research you want to do.
For the intellectual history of early modern Europe, Latin is typically crucial. I imagine beginning there might be best given the scope of your interest. But perhaps your focus on social history leads you more often to German and Italian language texts, so maybe those languages would be more useful to you. I agree with xypathos that it is a good idea to reach out to a professor with this question about how best to prepare yourself for your research interests.

It might be helpful for you to identify what kinds of sources you are interested in studying and to decide on the languages you need from there. Are the 16- and 17th-century texts on prostitution, witchcraft, etc. you're interested in written in Latin or the vernacular? The language requirements exist, at least essentially, to demonstrate your ability to execute the particular kind of research you want to do.
For the intellectual history of early modern Europe, Latin is typically crucial. I imagine beginning there might be best given the scope of your interest. But perhaps your focus on social history leads you more often to German and Italian language texts, so maybe those languages would be more useful to you. I agree with xypathos that it is a good idea to reach out to a professor with this question about how best to prepare yourself for your research interests.

I signed up for a swim class...I'm pretty unfit and thought it would prove to be a distraction.  Now I just hurt as I click refresh. 

I did a lot of those last fall. It's a hit or miss in terms of getting in- largely it's just politics at the end. But the more professors you can talk to in the same program, perhaps the better. But it can go in a very long way in terms of network contacts.

1. Has anyone done this informal phone meeting thing? How did it work?
Professors will usually indicate how they want to continue the conversation- via e-mail or phone. They usually prefer phone first just to get all the details as to avoid writing a long e-mail. Definitely visit any school if you can because everyone's just better in person.

2. Will the PA ask me questions (like a more formal interview?) or just expect me to do the talking?
They'll expect some talking from you because you're the ONE who asked to talk. Keep your answers brief. The conversation will flow once the two of you hit a good spot to start from. As someone said, you're going to try to establish chemistry. If you can laugh at one point, preferably sooner than later, that's good! You'll want your adviser to share similar sense of humor if possible... makes the whole PhD process easier.

2a. If "Yes," what kinds of questions?
Typical ones are:
Tell me about your research interests (Scary! But keep your answers concise if you can!)
Tell me about your project.
What languages do you have? (Don't worry, they won't switch languages here just to test you )
What can I tell you about our program?
What questions do you have about the program?
How can I help?

A lot of the questions will be quite open-ended. The last ones will especially make any applicant felt uncomfortable because the tone can come off as pretentious as if you're wasting their time. Academics don't always realize this so don't take the tone too personally. If they thought you were wasting their time, they won't even bother to pick up the phone, right?

3. The PA said I could ask any questions I had about the program, but I really cannot think of anything that's not answered on the website? What are questions people typically ask at these things?

You ARE interviewing so ask interview-type of questions. You will get a feel for the professor's expectations, not necessarily the department's.
1) Ask about other graduate students they're advising. This serves two purposes: the attention s/he can give you once in the program and the chances of the PA getting a new student the following fall. Where are they in the program?
2) Ask about languages- do you have sufficient preparation?
3) Summer funding opportunities- what do first and second year students do over the summer?
Definitely ask them about their CURRENT projects- professors change interests too! This also will give you an idea of how busy they are.
4) Try to express your thinking about your fit with the department and other professors and see how the professor responses. Some are quite easy enough to divulge details on the admissions process and whom you should also work with- this signals a very cooperative and helpful professor who wants to work in a team. Others are pretty tight-lipped about other professors, possibly signaling that the professor may prefer to be in strong control of your academic studies and probably doesn't offer a lot of flexibility. But if s/he does talk about the department in general, it's a good sign that you'll get a responsible and reasonable advisor who will manage you well but is willing to let you explore the whole department. In sum, this question will give you a basic sense of the professor's expectations of his or her graduate students. Then you can think afterward if this is the right person at this department to be your #1 professor or is there a better alternative in the same department? I actually switched professors in two separate programs for PA because of their responses to questions such as these and I'm/was actually happier this way. And actually, I think the professors are happier too.

4. Any ideas how long this "talk" will be?
Anywhere from 30-45 minutes, like a regular job interview.

Good luck! Don't forget to stand up and smile while talking!

I took two years "off" between undergrad and starting graduate school, and I spent that time working as an ESL teacher overseas in the country of my historical research focus, first with a Fulbright grant and then with a local government program. If you are a historian who specializes in another country or region's history, I would recommend spending your gap year there if at all possible - I got to do some independent research, as well as an internship at a top museum in said country, and it really helped my application. 
 
In terms of programs, most of the people I know who took time "off" applied for a Fulbright grant to research or teach ESL overseas, applied to another program that does the same thing (such as GEPIK in Korea or JET in Japan), joined the Peace Corps or Americorps, or did some sort of competitive internship in their field while moonlighting at a day job to earn cash.