<p>Medha--my D was in the same position as you. She moved into the high school as a sophomore and had the same (basically non-existant) GC for 2 years. Then, they changed the guidance department around, and she was assigned a new one the summer before her senior year. She was quite nervous, as she was planning to apply for several scholarships that would need GC recommendations, as well as from teachers. She basically went in shortly after school started, and made an appointment (this way, the GC wouldn't be in the middle of something), and really did what others above have suggested---just introduced herself, talked about what she was thinking about in terms of school, etc. She also mentioned the names of teachers that knew her best, and we do know that the GC got more info from them. </p>
<p>Later, D had her "official" senior meeting with the GC, but she scored big earlier by just being human and introducing herself. Any time she had to drop some form (all the many transcript requests, for example) off with the guidance secretary, she'd pop her head in if GC wasn't talking to anyone and just say hi. Some of her classmates (who avoided their GC like the plague) were amazed when she would say hi to D (by name) in the hallway.</p>
<p>Yes, in big schools, GC's have a huge load. The majority of their time is dealing with problems, problems, problems. Having a conscientious student come forward, who appears responsible and taking charge of his/her future is so out of the norm, that it will set you apart in a good way. D was in a class of 575--and the student to GC ratio was the same as what you have, or higher.</p>
<p>After a particularly grueling couple of weeks late in the fall, when D needed GC to do some stuff specifically on her behalf, I sent a thank you email to the GC and acknowledged that we really appreciated her help. From that point on, she seemed to go above and beyond on several things. </p>
<p>Just go for it.</p>