• Course selection - Consider selecting two core courses with the same teacher to maximize contact with the teacher, including one course in your junior or senior year (assuming the teacher is excellent and you can learn).
• Do the extra class work to draw attention to your strong problem solving, willingness to stretch, writing, research, and reasoning abilities. And when the time comes for you to request a letter, attach the old exams and graded work. They will assist the teacher in saying meaningful things about your motivation and academic promise.
• Take a class that involves research, presentation, and/or hands-on project, providing opportunities to interact with the teacher on a different dimension from simply taking a lecture class.
• If it is offered, take an Independent Studies course. A teacher often assigns readings with a written assignment at the end. Such an experience will introduce you to research in your area of interest and provide reasons for significant personal contact.
• School activities - You are responsible for finding ways to contribute to your school. Try to choose those that include teacher participation so that you can maximize your chance for close interaction and discussion. Ask what activities your teachers are involved, and offer assistance. Of course, you have to like what you do.
• Become a teaching assistant (TA) for your favorite course. The opportunity to TA will further establish closer relationships with your teacher (and your peers). Remember: It is through helping others that you help yourself.
• Meet with your teachers during Office Hours, if you have a question to ask, an idea to share, or a discussion to pursue. Over the years, I have worked closely with high school, college, and graduate students. I have to say that the best students are those who challenged me (and as a result, I learned something). So do not ask questions that you can easily find answers in your textbook.

In the end, you're going to be a stronger student, and your teachers may even be singing your praises:

• "Angie has come to ask me questions during my office hours more than all my other students combined, and she has always left me thinking how lucky I am. Angie comes up with new and more intuitive proofs of long-established results, while she could very easily have adopted the traditional proofs. The more I get to know her, the more I long for students like her who truly epitomize what it is to be an outstanding student..."
• "... Jason is a superb student, with a lively curiosity that makes him dissatisfied with superficial explanations. That curiosity frequently led our class to avenues and into areas that, otherwise, would have remained unexplored... Add to all this that Jason is a very congenial person, well-liked by teachers and fellow-students alike, and you will see why I am so positive about this bright and energetic young scholar. I endorse his candidacy with full confidence and enthusiasm."