How do you thank all the teacher/counselor who wrote the letter of recommendation for you? Is a simple thank you card enough? Just want to get some ideas.
We gave a thank you card. At the end of the year, we gave the LOR writers another thank you card with gift card to Olive Garden. They aren’t supposed to accept gifts but our Principal was very lenient since the rest of the senior teachers always get gifts from their students at the end of the year.
Son wrote thank you note after he heard back from all colleges and had made a decision. He extended his appreciation and thanks, and also let the reviewer where he was headed. He included a box of very high end artisan chocolates.
A heartfelt letter expressing gratitude for what they taught you and how it has influenced you, with a copy to the principal for their personnel file is one of the nicest ways to say thank you to anyone.
a bag of kona coffee is the plan.
I’ve written hundreds of letters, and have received maybe one or two gift cards. (No complaint, just letting you know.) A thank you note is not expected, but would be very much appreciated.
Thank-you notes are the best. The writers for ds2 I knew well and personally, so the gifts that accompanied ds2’s notes were more extravagant than they should be. They were really from the whole family, especially in one instance, where the letter-writer had written for ds1 and ds2. We waited until the end of the year so that they didn’t think we were trying to curry favor.
D did thank you note and baked brownies (some schools wouldn’t be cool with baked goods but ours is, parents and kids regularly bake for school events. YMMV).
She did this only after all the apps/rec letters had gone out so it didn’t feel “bribe-ey”.
@bjkmom It’s good to hear that gift cards are welcome. I would like to give restaurant gift cards to all of my kid’s LoR writers. Can you please recommend an amount that isn’t too little but also not excessive?
Our school district has an online form for giving positive feedback to teachers and other staff members. The principal recognizes the recipient at a staff meeting, and a notation is made in their personnel record.
Thank you cards and a coffee mug filled with fresh home roasted coffee beans.
I’m married to a teacher. No mugs, please! 
Yeah, I wouldn’t want a bunch of university coffee mugs.
I’ve also read that some students give sweatshirts with the logo of the university that they will attend. I can’t imagine why that would be a good present either.
I think the thing to do is put yourself in the LoR writer’s shoes; what would YOU want, in that case?
@whatisyourquest , there’s no such thing as “too little”-- no gift at all is expected, so anything is welcome.
I would think that, say, a $25 gift card to Panera would be an incredibly welcome surprise.
I’d say $25 or so is about right for a gift card. Another option might be an Amazon gift card.
Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, Panera, iTunes, local favorite restaurant.
My daughter wrote thank you notes and included gift cards to a local coffee shop.
My son asked if we could give gift cards ( after the recommendations were submitted), so we did. My son knew what these teachers really liked so one was Dunkin Donuts and the other was REI. Was really from the whole family!
This is a helpful thread. I like hearing recommendations (especially from teachers and GCs) about what kind of gifts are appreciated. They work so hard to write thoughtful letters in support of the college applications, and they should be rewarded somehow – not as crass compensation, but rather as sincere gratitude.
An analogy: I volunteered to be a coach for my kid’s basketball team. At the end of the season, the parents gave me a gift card to a local restaurant. It was completely unexpected, and I really appreciated the gesture. It wasn’t pay back for the time and energy that I invested as coach, but it showed that the parents cared and appreciated that I volunteered on the behalf of their kids.
If parents choose to give a gift of some sort, of course it’s very welcome.
But I do want to stress, again, that it’s not expected. Writing letters of recommendation is part of my job… not always the easiest part, but still part of my job.
So please don’t feel obligated to provide a gift of any sort.