<p>Now I know I should search for a new thread and blah blah but my question is different.</p>
<p>School is winding down quickly and I feel obligated to show my appreciation to my teachers. Nowadays, seeing them in the hallways is a bit awkward and I feel guilty.</p>
<p>2 things stand in my way:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>In terms of acceptances, this past application season has not been too kind to me. What do I answer to the inevitable "what college are you going to" question? The answer is almost embarrassing, and I don't want them to know that their efforts were for naught.</p></li>
<li><p>I'm broke as a joke and I'm short on the supplies and craftsmanship necessary to make anything significant.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I could write a long letter for both of them, but those might be things they'd rather not receive--more bad handwriting of mine to strain through.</p>
<p>You could type the letters.</p>
<p>Don’t feel obligated to give a gift, though; if you didn’t get into any of the colleges, they should sympathize with you and waive the requirement. A letter should suffice for anyone, and asking for more than that is presumptuous to a fault.</p>
<p>1) Tell them the school you got into.</p>
<p>It’s so rude when students leave their professors without any hint or idea of where a student is going. It’s almost like, I got into college, screw you.</p>
<p>2) A handwritten letter is something nice to receive. It means so much more than a simple box of chocolates.</p>
<p>For my daughter she bought a gift card as a thank you to the teachers. Even a $5 Starbucks card can be nice. But if even that is too much a nice thank you note would be appreciated. Either way you should fo this. It will go a long way.</p>
<p>Rules of etiquette/common courtesy would suggest that you should have thanked your teachers immediately after they wrote and submitted recs, not many months later. So, the fact that you didn’t get into whichever colleges should be ignored.
No one with any sense of decency is going to say anything other than some version of “Congratulations. You must be so excited!” when you inform him/her of your college choice, whether or not s/he knows of where else you applied. So forget your embarrassment and reply joyfully to the question.
If you’re broke, you can get creative. For one of my teachers, I wrote a short but sweet thank you note, and since he is a chemistry teacher baked him a (very) large cookie in the shape of the periodic table, with all the symbols and different colors for the various families. I’ve seen other students buy pineapples for quirkier teachers. You don’t need anything expensive. Baked goods are common gifts and are usually very much appreciated. If your strengths don’t lie in the kitchen, and since you’ve not made reference to any other great artistic skills, you could also write letters. A heartfelt letter can never be amiss.</p>
<p>does anyone want to read my letter before I hand it in?</p>
<p>That would be me. I need to read something touching rite now. :D</p>
<p>^^^ True, if I were a teacher, a sincere letter would be nice.</p>