<p>i know that i'm worrying about this a little early since i'm a junior and i haven't interviewed yet or asked for recommendations yet, but i'm a little worried about what to say in a thank you note to a teacher or interviewer- i know this shouldn't be a hard thing to figure out but i'm kind of socially awkward and worry about how these things work and if i'm doing everything right.</p>
<p>so my main two questions are:
1. what kind of things should one include in a thank you note, and how long should it be?
2. if you ask a teacher for a rec junior year, when should you give them a thank you note? after they say they'll do it, at the end of the year when they'll probably start it, or in the fall after they've turned it in?</p>
<p>thanks for your feedback! :)</p>
<p>1) keep it short and concise, but meaningful. maybe add a box of chocolates and make sure when you deliver the thanks to express your gratuity more vocally than handwritting.</p>
<p>2) dont ask until senior year. your chances will be low b/c teachers already have to write recs for seniors applying to college. ask beginning of senior year and invite them on the Common App or provide them with envelopes with the mailing address of the school to mail the letters out.</p>
<p>if my chances for getting a rec senior year are low, why not ask them earlier? and the two teachers i want to ask are ones i have this year who tell students to ask them in the spring. but if i ask them junior year, should i give them the info and the thank you card at the beginning of senior year?</p>
<p>In your school, do the seniors graduate and clear out before the underclassmen finish? They do in my daughter’s high school. Her guidance counselor told her to wait until after graduation. Once the seniors were safely out the door, her junior-year teachers would probably be happy to talk with her about college recommendations.</p>
<p>She did ask her teachers for letters of recommendation after graduation, in the final days of eleventh grade. She gave the teachers recommendation forms in September of her senior year.</p>
<p>And she thanked them at Christmas time, after they’d sent their letters to her colleges, with a note and a nice gift.</p>
<p>thanks for the timing advice! i like the idea of getting a small gift; i’m planning on making cookies for my teachers or something like that. the main thing i’m wondering about is what to put in the note. obviously i’d say thanks for putting the time in, it means a lot, etc but it seems like that alone would be a bit generic and very short, so is there something else that should be included? maybe this will be more obvious after i talk about recs with my teachers, but i’m nervous about what i would say.</p>
<p>I get what you’re saying, sm, but I think you’re overthinking it. When I was teaching high school, I never got a particularly original thank-you from a student I’d written a letter for, and I never expected one. I did, however, expect to be thanked. Teachers aren’t compensated for doing recommendations, and it takes about an hour to do one well. </p>
<p>The teachers who agree to write you a letter may want to meet with you beforehand to find out which colleges interest you, and why, and how you’re planning to present yourself to them (scientist, student-athlete, law-school-bound debate champion, etc.). You should also consider hanging onto some of the best work you’ve done in their classes this year, in case they want a reminder in the fall.</p>
<p>Honestly, if you express appreciation for your teacher’s generosity with his or her time, that’s plenty novel! The whole thing only needs to be a couple of sentences. And, really, we have these conventional wordings (“thank you for taking the time…,” “I truly appreciate your support…”) precisely so that we don’t have to feel stuck for something to say when we’re grateful.</p>
<p>thanks! i know i’m overreacting and worrying too much, especially this early, but i just tend to get nervous about these types of things. hearing that no thank you notes are that original and that they don’t have to be really makes me less nervous; thanks so much for making me feel better about this process! :)</p>
<p>You’re quite welcome.</p>