<p>Don’t over-stress about getting into a super-selective LAC like Williams. Most of the top 50 or so LACs have the same small classes and similar academic programs. They all attract many students with good grades and test scores. Many professors at many of these schools got their PhDs from the same top research universities. Example: history professors at Kenyon, USNWR #32, earned doctorates from Emory, Columbia, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Harvard, Wisconsin, UVa, and TOSU. 13 history professors cover a population with only about 30 graduating history majors per year. So you should be able to form a relationship with a well-connected professor who can help you find your research niche and write a good LOR to a top graduate school.</p>