I’m planning to send a small gift to each of my two teachers who wrote LOR for my college applications. And it seems that I need a thank you note for each as well.
I can only think of like “thank you for taking the time to write such a lovely recommendation! I appreciate your thoughtfulness and seriousness”. Perhaps that’s too generic?
Some articles say write about a certain memory or common interest, but the problem is that it’s not that deep. I personally feel neutral towards all my teachers. I’m not an emotional person at all, and I certainly do not want an over-the-top letter that makes them into tears or something. That feels so awkward and unnecessary. And to be honest, if I try something like that, it’s just gonna sound cringe.
It’s also been a few months since they wrote the LORs, and my admissions results have come out. Is this the appropriate time to send a gift, or has the time window passed? Should I add which school I decided to go in the letter?
I’m sure the teachers would appreciate a thoughtful thank you note and you certainly can let them know what college you will be attending. A small gift is nice but not necessary.
At my kids’ HS, there is a tradition for graduating seniors – toward the end of the school year, the school provides stationery so they can write thank-you notes for teachers. This isn’t quite the same as your situation (because students can thank any teacher, not just the ones who wrote recommendation letters), but my D23 wrote to every teacher she had in HS who was still there as of last year. That included the ones who were not her favorites or to whom she was not especially close (and this is where the situation parallels yours a little). Even for those teachers, she found something nice to say by describing some knowledge or skill she picked up in their classes that would serve her well going forward. Those notes might not have been as heartfelt as the ones she wrote to her absolute favorite teachers, and/or the ones who wrote recommendation letters, but they were still specific, thoughtful, and meaningful.
Our kids wrote thank you notes to those who wrote their recommendations. They included something special they learned or how this teacher impacted them.
In the past, I got a small fruit basket for teachers who wrote recs. However, this year, I ended up getting them $25 gift cards to the fancy grocery where I usually order. I did $50 to the college counselor at school. It was easier to buy gift cards rather than hassle my senior to write something.
I’m a big believer in sincerity in thank yous, whatever that actually means for you, so I would not try to follow some formula or otherwise force it to be something that would not be sincere for you.
So maybe for you (and this is also not a formula, just a possibility), the sincere message would be something like, “I am writing to thank you for your recommendation letter. I am excited to be attending X, and I very much appreciate your help in the admissions process.”
Is that the most personal and emotionally-uplifting message ever? No. But if that is actually a good representation of how you feel, I personally think that is the best approach, because I think it will read as something you really mean–again assuming that is how you actually feel.
Edit: By the way, if you do want to write something about their class, I would emphasize the same thing about sincerity. A long time ago I taught a lot of college classes as a grad student, and I read a lot of anonymous end of class evaluations. One of my favorite comments of all time, enough that I still think about it today, was along the lines of, “I had to take this class to fill a requirement and I thought it would be boring, but it was actually kind of interesting.” That was far from the most glowing comment I ever got, but it was easily one of the most impactful, precisely because it was so obviously sincere.
As a former educator, I can tell you, Thank You notes are far more meaningful to many than gifts of any kind…including gift cards. I kept a bulletin board in my room behind my desk of thank you notes. There were hundreds and hundreds that I took down when I retired from that job and reading them all again was special.
Agreed. I have kept them all. I even rip out the pages in students’ final exam bluebooks (which they don’t get back anyway) where they sometimes leave me thank you notes at the end, and I save those, too. It means the world when a student has taken the time to write.
My kids wrote thank you notes and gifted small spirit items from the college (like a pen). I don’t know what they wrote because I didn’t read them, but knowing the 5 of them, I’m guessing some were very short and some were very meaningful.
Teacher here–a short note is totally fine, even if all you say is, “Thank you for writing my recommendation. I will be attending _________ next year.” It’s also fine to say a lot more than that–don’t worry about being cringe!–but we really do appreciate just a simple acknowledgement.
My kids included a broader thanks for how this teacher influenced you. We actually included notes with an annoucement. And then included a gift card for most important teachers, directors, coaches, mentors, etc.
Dear Ms. Jones -
I wanted to thank you for taking the time to write a college recommendation letter for me. Over the years, your underwater basket weaving classes have been engaging, fun and challenging and I feel lucky to have had a teacher like you. I especially will take forward the lessons I learned on may day baskets.
I am excited to be attending University of Nowhere in the fall! I hope you enjoy your summer -
You should thank your teachers in person, not through a letter. I do think that is okay to get a bit emotional, given what they have done for you (making the schools you got into possible and spending the time and effort to teach you stuff that you’ll end up using throughout your future career).
It’s also been a few months since they wrote the LORs, and my admissions results have come out. Is this the appropriate time to send a gift, or has the time window passed? Should I add which school I decided to go in the letter?
Now is better than later. Since the school year is winding down, you might not see them again. Thank them now and be happy.
If your GC was actually helpful. By the time our GC scheduled a college appointment with our two kids, they had already submitted their applications. (Early October of senior year). And in both cases, the GC told our kids they wouldn’t get accepted to the colleges where they eventually matriculated and graduated. Sorry…no thank you note to our GC.