Thank You Letters

[midnight]

I'm going to send my letter writers thank you letters, but should I send another small token of thanks along with it if I want to do so?

My friend sent her profs thank you cards along with gift cards to a coffee shop after her letters were all sent in, and I thought it was nice but am unsure if it's acceptable.

Edited November 27, 2012 by midnight streetlight

[Allouette]

In my opinion, it's a bit unnecessary; I don't think it is unacceptable, per se, but I personally would not send a token. I think that a handwritten thank you card/letter is a great way to express your gratitude and show you put some time and thought into it (as opposed to just an email).

Out of curiosity (and because I'm trying to decide this myself and would love some input), are you sending these thank-you letters now or after you start hearing from schools and can share the news with your letter writers?

[midnight]

No, I'm not sending them now.

I was going to wait until the recs were submitted (my last deadline isn't until February 1), but I do like the idea of sending thank yous after I hear from the schools so I can share any good news.

[cyberwulf]

Just the note should be fine.

[dendy]

I was planning on waiting until I made my final selection before writing a physical thank you to my profs so I would have something to share with them--is this poor etiquette? I have of course already thanked them a million times over email.

[Crucial BBQ]

No, I'm not sending them now.

I was going to wait until the recs were submitted (my last deadline isn't until February 1), but I do like the idea of sending thank yous after I hear from the schools so I can share any good news.

I would wait until after you know that all schools received their LORs, you do not want to influence them or seem like you are trying to.

As for waiting, if you are thanking them while sharing in the "good news", be sure to thank them for all the schools they wrote LORs for, even if you were not accepted by the rest. If you say Hey, I got in! Thanks for the great LOR! They might only think you are appreciative of their effort only because you were accepted. You need to thank them for writing the LORs in the first place. Whether you were accepted into a program or not is not the point, but you know that.

Besides, unless you didn't waive your rights to view the LORs, you never know what they really wrote about you.

Edited November 29, 2012 by Crucial BBQ