Hello, I am a junior at my high school and I aspire to get into Stanford, but my biggest problem lies in the fact that I have not quite made a huge connection with any of my teachers this year. I am very worried that I will receive sub-par letter of recs and therefore kill my chances at this university. Are there any steps I should take in creating a deep connection with a teacher. Thanks and wish me luck 
@FinchenkoN You are right that recommendation letters are very important at top schools. Here is what my kid did over time to build rapport and connection with his teachers. He chose 3 or 4 teachers he liked the most and stopped by and did many things to get to know them and also help them to get to know him, such as stopping by his counselor’s office with coffee or boba tea etc. It’s not easy to get to know your counselor because he or she oversees so many kids’ applications. He also helped out as class assistant to grade papers etc.
You need to get to know at least 3 or 4 teachers because out of these teachers, you need to ask for recommendation letters for specific schools. Moreover, you need to tell them to address so and so aspects of your personality, not just your academic records. My kid consciously put in a lot of effort to get to know several of his teachers and his counselor, and he got lucky that they all liked HIM, not just his academic prowess in their classes. Truth be told, he wasn’t the number 1 student in their classes probably, but I think they were impressed by his willingness to keep in touch with them and get to know them by asking certain advice from them, etc. Most teachers like giving some advice.
IMO instead of recommendation letters stating "This kid is the best student I have ever had in my class in last 5 years . . . ", it’s better to have recommendation letters that read "This kid is not only a great student but also one of the kindest students I have ever had. For example, he . . . " I bet some of them wrote that they were impressed that my kid kept in touch with them even though he no longer took their classes and dropped by their classes to say hello etc. My kid did not have one teacher who taught him 2 or 3 classes, so he could not get close to them naturally because he happened to take many classes taught by the same teacher, so he really had to make a conscious effort to get to know some of his teachers as human beings. The thing is, my kid really learned a lot about his teachers through this effort and learned to like them more, which probably made them like him more. All I can say is that the teachers did not naturally take to him, but they took to him because he put in the effort.
Therefore, my advice to you is start now to truly get to know some of your teachers and learn what makes them tick, where they went to college, how many kids they have, what they are like, what they went through in college and what advice they can give you etc. Most teachers love to talk and give advice to you. Once you show your curiosity to get to know them, that makes huge positive impression on them.