<p>i foresaw this problem since day one in freshman year…and so worked on it all three years on developing relationships with teachers. of course i go to a private school (im not rich though–got in on aid) so developing relationships is a lot easier…</p>
<p>but anyway, now that its kinda late its not the end of the world…</p>
<p>try for new teachers, theyre the most naive, can write great rec, and dont know your “rep” whether its false or not–and work on the ones you know now. you still have about 6 months of school left in junior year and senior year to do that.</p>
<p>and—take it from me—PARTICIPATE! its not that hard, believe me, i know.</p>
<p>Woo… So I’m not the only one who sleep through Calc class and get an A+. Well, since I took calc in 10th grade I really didn’t care because I knew teachers will generally forget you when you are 12th (unless you see the same teacher in another class, otherwise, even if the teacher loved you at 10th or 9th grade will not be able to remember much about you). Since you are a junior, I tell you to kiss up to your junior teacher like what I did. Try get into personal conversations before class, talk about his/her house, maybe a new computer, a car or their kids. I knew that I had to ask my junior year teacher for recommendation eventhough I did not have my best grades there. Because when I asked my calc teacher, he said “why would you want me to write you a recommendation letter?, I remembered you doing horrible in class.” I was like, WTH, I was straight A+ student in top of your class that year. Then, I just decided to get teacher who knew me the most writing me a recommendation. Teachers are people, they are human, and have a limited memory. Kiss up to them and all they will remember that you are a diligent hardworking and interesting student, and they won’t recall if you got a B+ one semester and failed a test once.</p>
<p>You want to go to Stanford or MIT and didn’t know you would need recommendations? My view is anybody who can’t get two or three great teacher recommendations doesn’t deserve to get in to a top school. I think you are missing a skill all top schools want. Your competition has been impressing people since day one, you have not.</p>
<p>It is certainly not too late. As others have suggested, start building relationships now with your teachers. The suggestion to “help” in class via tutoring, etc. is a good one. Approach your teacher and tell her/him that you’d like to share the good fortune of having a great grasp on the material to help other students in your school. Ask if there’s a peer-tutoring group you can join or start. If your teachers have a special interest in subject-related competitions, or if they sponsor clubs, see if you can join and be an active participant.</p>
<p>The description of your classes (50+ kids in a lecture format) sounds like large university survey classes and completely inappropriate for someone your age, so I appreciate the challenge you face in carving out an identity with your teachers. The mere fact that you sought to ask this community for help, however, indicates you really want to make this happen. Sometimes you’ve just gotta’ jump through hoops in life. So, just say <em>?!</em> it and do it.</p>