OutsideAgitator

Hey all! This is my first post here after some good advice from a graduate friend. I'm finally getting around to putting my grad school apps together, very classic me to wait until the last minute like this. I'm applying to Columbia, Cornell, and Rutgers, all for PhD's in History. I know this goes against pretty much all advice I've ever received but I'm trying anyway. I've got my CV put together, good letters of rec (one of which is a Columbia alum), and am still working on my statement of purpose. The one thing I'm most behind on is contacting potential faculty at my chosen schools, is that something I should be doing right now? If so, in what capacity? I have profs I'd like to work with chosen at each school and am putting that on my apps. Any advice would be super helpful on this. Thanks!