I realize that this is not the typical question posted here but I am in need of advice... I am an aspiring history professor of European women's history. I'm hoping to get my MA in history or medieval studies in hopes of strengthening my applications to top 20 history Ph.D. program. I'm currently researching schools and potential advisors but there is not as much information available on the reputations of MA programs (especially since many well-ranked history departments are no longer offering terminal MAs). I would very much appreciate any guidance on this issue. I'd be more than happy to share more about my research interests, programs I'm considering, and my background as a candidate if that helps!
Have you already tried to get into a PhD program and failed? Regardless of what you do, if this is a plan you want to pursue, I'd at least take a stab at PhD programs. An MA will certainly boost your chances, but they're money spinners—hence, most reputable institutions don't offer them, mine does not. I don't know what your debt situation is currently, but you don't necessarily want to accrue more debt reaching for a goal that is hard to attain. Something to keep in mind, there were about 3 tenure track jobs in medieval history this year. I don't want to dissuade you from following your dreams (we've all got them!), but don't let them burden you any more than they should.
One thing you can do to help you get into a PhD program is the identification of a project that in "scholarly vogue" right now. This applies to topic, region, and chronology. For example, noblewomen in France in the thirteenth century is not going to be as attractive to a PhD program as someone who wants to do slave women in Crete during the transition from Venetian to Ottoman authority. This second project checks a lot of boxes. It's a sort of a "frontier," it's not only in the Mediterranean but on an island as well, and it has to do with the liminal space between the Ottoman and Venetian Empires; I can't tell you how much great scholarship I've seen about that last one. Now, if you want to do medieval, I'm sure there's a project you could cook up that sounds promising, but it's something to think about.
On that last note, how's your Latin? I'm not sure it's a dealbreaker. I know at least one person in my medieval history PhD program that didn't come in with Latin, but it can be rough. They complain about the burden of having to bear exquisite pleasure (suffering) of having to learn new 3-5 grammatical concepts a week along with graduate level seminar work. Now, I don't mind listening to these complaints. Part of graduate school is the camaraderie developed from listening to each other complain lots of different things, and I am always happy to help them (believe it or not, after 5-6 years of Latin, it can become an actual pleasure to translate), but it would be something to avoid if possible.