<p>OK.. I've printed off all these posts and will use them as fodder at tomorrow's dinner! </p>
<p>However, the actual writing of the thank you note was never the question; it was the timing. I thought he should have written them immediately after they were mailed to the first school. His Dad wasn't as strict - but try telling him that when it comes to writing HIS mother a note after Christmas! :) </p>
<p>But I fully agree with Sybbie. This is not standard fare. In fact, and one of the reasons I am being hyper vigilant now is that the one teacher who wrote for him NEVER writes recommendations and has no problem telling kids, no. However, he actually said to S last spring if he had him senior year as a student, he'd love to write his -- he was in his US History class as a sophomore. Anyway.. thanks so much for all the great replies and I can't wait to say... "told ya so"</p>
<p>Then again, he'll tell me that YOUR generation. And we'll get into this long conversation about how some things never change.</p>
<p>And that includes never ever asking a girl on a date via text! Smarmy.</p>
<p>I figured write the note now and then, when he actually gets in, he can give them a small token like a coffee mug or something from the school he's attending along with a gift card to like Starbucks.</p>
<p>
[quote]
As to the general discussion, it's been awhile but in Randy Pausch's book "The Last Lecture" he talks about being on an admissions committee, he was the final pass on a candidate's file who was in the "thumbs down" category.... he flipped through her file one last time, and found a thank you note to the administrator who had arranged for flights? something for this young lady... in the hierarchy of adcoms pretty much the lowest person on the totem pole.</p>
<p>Anyway....Randy got to thinking how thoughtful he found this gesture, and gave her file a look with new eyes. He changed his mind and decided to give her a thumbs up. So there you go - you just never know. Good manners are never out of style
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I have this book!!! And now totally remember this exactly!! Will have an arsenal by the time dinner rolls around tomorrow! :)</p>
<p>While I understand the premise of hoping to have an admission to "thank" the recommender for.....I actually like the timeline of thanking them before results are in. Because the oppositive vantage point might be really obnoxious.....I got rejected but thanks anyway? If they don't want to write them now, a rejection may not be the best motivator, not implying that anyone is getting rejected, you understand!!</p>
<p>That period of time when the relief for having pressed the submit key is tangible, that is the optimum time to say thanks. The message that can be conveyed is "I am really appreciative of having you on MY team" who knows me well enough to be a willing supporter. </p>
<p>All that being said, my child has not written theirs yet....and it is a bone of contention between us. Do as I say, not as we do......is the sadness in my situation.... and I definitely agree with the "pay it forward" approach......these teachers do this over and over for new and different kids each year.....we want their enthusiasm for our kids.... they deserve specific and targeted thanks...... in my opinion.</p>
<p>Coming from a college applicant, I think writing thank you notes is extremely important. For those who write your child's recommendations, a gift card or other small token of appreciation is appropriate as well.</p>
<p>At the beginning of the school year (Son's senior year) I bought Son a box of classy note cards with his name on them. He gave a Starbucks gift card and a handwritten note to the GC and teacher who wrote recs.</p>
<p>Each month the HS celebrates a different "character quality." December's was Gratitude, and the recommending teacher nominated Son for a t-shirt because of his thank you note and now he wears is proudly. </p>
<p>Note that I still have to force each kid to write all thank you notes. I don't know if they'll write them as adults, but I'm doing the best I can.</p>
<p>I said that "I" consider it a requirement of the job. There are legal requirements and there are moral/professional requirements. Obviously, I will not get fired if I refuse to write a letter, and no one can force me to do it, but I consider it part of being a professional. A teacher is perfectly within his/her rights to refuse to write a letter, although I think this is petty if you know your students need them. And, of course, I have occasionally refused to write letters for students for whom I did not think I could write a good one. </p>
<p>There are certainly special cases where one knows that the teacher never writes letters, for instance, that are exceptional. The point I was making was that, while you can't go wrong writing a thank you note, I would not consider it a requirement. Over the years, I have probably written several hundred letters of recommendation, and I have never received more than a verbal thank you at the time and sometimes an email thank you if the letter resulted in success. </p>
<p>I personally would have a problem accepting any kind of gift for having written a letter. It would not "feel" right to me.</p>
<p>Writing thank you notes generate good karma. It's one thing if the student comes from a somewhat disorganized stressful household but if they have it all together they better be writing thangk you notes. What goes around comes around...</p>
<p>Just purchased Visa gift cards today for the two teachers that wrote my son recommendations. He will have to sit down and write thank you notes for each tonight. (He doesn't know that part yet!)</p>
<p>I wrote thank-you notes and gave gifts to the teachers that recommended me and to my guidance counselor (it was Christmas time, it seemed less…‘‘suck-up’’ than normal) .
Unfortunately, I didn’t write any to my college interviewers. Is it too late? Some were 2-3 weeks ago, others 1 week ago, my latest, yesterday.</p>
<p>My DDs are required to write TY notes for everything, including the rule about no Christmas checks cashed until the note is written.</p>
<p>One of my DDs is especially disciplined in writing them and does it on her own for anything I would have required of her back in the day; I would imagine it does make an impression on people, especially on the people of our generation!</p>
<p>Every time some gets a TY note, they think of you–generally in a positive way. While promptness is nice, it is still better to get the notes in than not do it in embarassment.</p>
<p>I do alumni interviews. I have rarely, if ever, gotten a physical thank you note, but get thank you emails about 40% of the time. I feel that thank you emails are quite sufficient. While getting a thank you email does not change my fundamental impression of the candidate, getting one does make me think they are more seriously thinking about my college. A week or even two after the interview is not too late.</p>
<p>I do alumni interviewing as well and almost always get a follow-up. I’m not doing it this year because my son is applying to beloved Alma Mater U. But my recollection is that about 50% or more send hard copy. I saved one that was so good from a few years ago so that I could show it to my kid. When I read the thank you note, I said, this kid is going to be successful in life. He didn’t get in to AMU but he did get into Yale.</p>
<p>I don’t agree that it’s necessary to send a thank you note for a college interview. My feeling is that the interview is a requirement imposed by the college, not a favor bestowed on the student. There’s nothing wrong with sending one, but it seems a little ridiculous, like sending a thank you note to whomever is reading your application. Yes, it’s nice that alumni volunteer to do interviews, but the student is not necessarily showing up for the interview voluntarily – it’s another hoop to jump through and is often required by the school. I wouldn’t expect a kid to write a thank you note for something they are being forced to do.</p>