How to get a good letter of recommendation...

I am often asked to write letters of recommendation for students. In fact, I am asked ALL THE TIME. I get at least 10-20 requests a semester. That is 1-2 per week. They tend to come in spurts as all the deadlines for pharmacy school, medical school, graduate school, scholarships etc. tend to cluster around the same dates.

I have some students in more than one class. I have some students in my research group. These are the students whose letters are easy to write because I see them daily, see their work daily, I really know what they are capable of. But, today I was working on a letter for a student that I only had for one semester. This student is applying to medical school and has a great shot at it. I am writing the letter for an entire committee of faculty (4) as some schools require this type of letter (one letter, instead of 4 separate letters). A number of things stood out to me about her...these things make it EASY for me to write a letter for her even though I don't know her well. This got me thinking about how a student can go about getting a good letter.

I will summarize the pointers for getting a good letter below.
1.) Ask the right people. Ask people who know you well. If there aren't people who know you well, then you might need to work on your interpersonal skills and get to know the faculty a little better!!!
2.) Give the person writing the letter PLENTY of notice. Like at least 2 weeks, preferably more. I have been really busy lately and it has taken me a while to do my recent letters.
3.) Give the person writing the letter a copy of your latest resume and some of the application materials you turned in (such as a personal statement). These items help them learn even more about you so that they can write a letter that says more than "Bob made an A in my class. He came to class on time and did all his homework." Can we say BORING?????
4.) Be noticeable in your departments and majors. Know the faculty, participate in clubs, go to functions. Spend time chatting with your advisor if they have time to talk. Do undergraduate research. Take more classes than are required to get your degree. Try to do the homework problems before asking the instructor to help you finish the problem. Show initiative. Come to office hours. Keep appointments if you make them.
5.) DON'T be a whiner that is late to class or late turning in your homework. Don't be the one that begs to have the test moved every time. If you make a bad grade on a test, do what you can to improve...don't pester the teacher about every half point that they took off of your test. Don't argue with them. It makes you look like a pain in the a$$.
6.) Give clear instructions about what is to be sent to the school (letter and form, form only etc.) and make sure that the address is correct. If the letter can be submitted electronically, provide the correct web address.
7.) Follow up. Give the teacher a week or so and email or call them to remind them to do the letter. We all get busy and things fall off of our to do lists. Its not intentional.

Hope this helps!