<p>I want to know, what is the proper way to handle a subtle but appropriate “thank you” to an adult who wrote you a letter of recommendation? What about to teacher you do not see anymore because they are no longer your teachers?</p>
<p>Is a reply back a “Thank you!” enough? I feel like it isn’t! Am I just overthinking this? LOL.</p>
<p>My D waited until this week to write most of her thank you notes to LoR writers (teachers and one coach). She wanted to tell them where she decided to go to school and thank them for helping her get there. She had great admissions results, and she is certain that her teacher recommendations must have been fantastic. I think she will be sending them by email, but saying more than just “thank you”.</p>
<p>Your thread title “aftermath” implies that the letter of reference was negative.
For teachers who have helped you, the best thing is to thank them - email, text, in person, whatever. Even better, write it down. Teachers cherish those letters from students.</p>
<p>Definitely write them a note, either email or handwritten, even if you do thank them in person. It’s never inappropriate to say thank you to someone who has helped you.</p>
<p>Handwritten notes are best. Two to three sentences should suffice.</p>
<p>We did handwritten notes and a small gift. The teachers at our large school get slammed with recommendation letter requests and they seemed to really appreciate the gesture.</p>
<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>What would a small gift consist of? Perhaps something like a sbux giftcard? </p>
<p>Also, it’s been almost a week since she sent the letter. I wanted to wait until I heard some results, but would that be too late?</p>
<p>Small gifts - chocolate, amazon book card, itunes etc. I’d say $20 or less. My kids thanked in person right away and then wrote letters and gave gifts once they knew where they’d gotten in. Thank the GC too, nobody ever does! We got the nicest thank you back from her.</p>
<p>My D got a box of notecards from her college, and wrote her thank-yous on those.</p>
<p>I agree with collegealum; for this purpose, email is definitely second-rate. Take the time to write a short, sincere note.</p>
<p>My D wrote her thank you’s in the fall after all the letters were sent out, with small gift cards, probably $20. She still sees the teachers regularly, so they know where she chose to attend. Her GC left the school in October after writing her recommendation, but I did send something to the hard working guidance secretaries!</p>