I have completed a BA in history and My GPA is a 3.81, I have a few B’s especially from freshman year, and I am deeply worried that I might not get in a PhD program in American History. I’m looking at programs such as George Mason, Northwestern, Arizona State University, University of Rochester, University of New Mexico and UC Irvine. Is my GPA disqualifying?
I think the two relevant questions are: Which university can you go to? Will you need to do a Master’s first? It seems you should be fine for a decent Master’s program somewhere, and probably somewhere on your list.
Why would a 3.81 GPA be disqualifying? That’s a near-perfect GPA. If you are not accepted to a PhD program at those places I would highly doubt that it’s your GPA that keeps you out. A few Bs is expected.
What’s more important are going to be your research/scholarly interests and your fit with the department; your prior research experience in history; and your writing samples (likely the program requires them). Also it’s my understanding that most history PhD programs have language requirements, and the strongest candidates have reading proficiency in one language already by the time you apply.