Thank you very much for your comments.
I have said that war and society and terrorism studies are my research interests, but that doesn't really specify what geographical and historical areas I'm interested in. The geographical areas I'm interested in are France, Russia, and the United States, and obviously my focus is on modern history.
Here's the thing: I'm really not interested in attending a program that's not in the T20, preferably the T10. I hope it doesn't sound shallow or vain, and I know that the overwhelming majority of grad students will tell you to apply to the scholar and not the program, but I'm somewhat skeptical of that. Furthermore, I was not exactly thrilled with my undergraduate institution - although I was more than happy with faculty and the support from my department, I frankly was not impressed with the caliber of the students, and I think standards were deflated to an extent. Anyway, what kind of application would I have to have to be considered for some of these top programs (say, for example, UNC Chapel Hill, Northwestern University, or the University of Chicago)? Would I necessarily have to publish an article, for example, to be considered? Would it be expected that I be a scholarship winner or have won paper prizes? I did come runner-up in two awards at my school...