<p>As a professor (not history but close) I will add to the excellent advice here that anyone wishing to apply to Ph.D. programs really must have a mentor or two during their undergrad years. To write a rec letter that has a chance of helping, a professor must really know the student. This means that a student must not just do well in a class but must get to know the professor out of class. Go to professors’ office hours. Ask for additional reading about a topic of interest. Ask the professor to review drafts of papers, even when not required. My own opinion is that this is easier to do at a LAC, where professors actually teach small classes and have time to get to know students. Not to say that it can’t be done at a larger university, but students will have more competition for a professor’s time (just in terms of the sheer number of students in a class and also in terms of the professor’s research commitments).</p>