I think you should go with something you feel comfortable with. A card, of course. That is the most important part, and if it's well-written you may not need anything else.
That said, if you want to give them a gift I think that's appropriate/okay in most cases. Since you're hoping to go to the same university, I agree that it shouldn't be a gift card or anything. (I did give my recommenders B&N gift cards & See's chocolate, but that was at Christmas after they'd sent off all their letters, and I hadn't applied to that school.)
The thing to keep in mind is that it really all depends on your relationship with the person. Someone who's just been your professor for a class or two probably just needs a card, as opposed to someone who's been your mentor for three years, your thesis supervisor, and a friend.
As for what kind of gifts, I'd probably stick with chocolates, books, perhaps a paperweight? It's hard to say. :)
After I received my first acceptance (which was the school I planned on going to until I was swayed to another), I sent them all hand written cards with a $15 Borders gift card. So don't stress out about it now, you can let it go for a few months. Which I think is more appropriate, they might not have sent the letters yet. Gift cards are perfectly okay. I've heard of some people buying them books from their new advisor (if it's like a lit program) or like a coffee mug from their new school. Then there's always chocolates or homemade cookies. I think those are the most common. If you're not that close i'd try to keep it under $20 though, graduate school apps are expensive enough- don't drain your wallet on gifts. If your LORs are nice people, they'll just be happy with a nice card too.
The program I applied to required me to hand in the LOR's with the application and has an open letter system. I read 2 of them. The 3rd I was sealed so I didn't get a chance to. My application didn't cost me any money. The program application was free and I qualified for a fee waiver for the university's. I paid a total of about $300 for the 2 tests I had to take and the certification of clearance I had to get.
One of my reccommenders is a recently diagnosed diabetic so sweets are a bad idea, especially since she hasn't really adjust to eating the sugar free variety. I don't feel comfortable giving gift cards because they have a monetary value attached and are impersonal. I don't even get friends or family giftcards unless they've specifically asked for them. I've known one of them for 8 years.
As for waiting, since I'm broke I don't currently have much of a choice.
It took me a couple tries to get into grad school, so I had a few rounds of recommender gifts :-) You don't have to give anything beyond a card if you don't want to, but I do like the idea of fitting the gift to how long you've known the recommender. It definitely doesn't have to be expensive, either. One of my recommenders always came to class with a can of Coke in hand, so I got him two 24-packs :-) This year (the year I finally made it in!) I hand-painted a mug for each recommender that had to do with their research, classes they taught, or their interests. I didn't finish the mugs until May, long after they'd sent the letters and I'd made my grad school decision. So if you go for gifts, you've got plenty of time!
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That said, if you want to give them a gift I think that's appropriate/okay in most cases. Since you're hoping to go to the same university, I agree that it shouldn't be a gift card or anything. (I did give my recommenders B&N gift cards & See's chocolate, but that was at Christmas after they'd sent off all their letters, and I hadn't applied to that school.)
The thing to keep in mind is that it really all depends on your relationship with the person. Someone who's just been your professor for a class or two probably just needs a card, as opposed to someone who's been your mentor for three years, your thesis supervisor, and a friend.
As for what kind of gifts, I'd probably stick with chocolates, books, perhaps a paperweight? It's hard to say. :)
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So don't stress out about it now, you can let it go for a few months. Which I think is more appropriate, they might not have sent the letters yet. Gift cards are perfectly okay. I've heard of some people buying them books from their new advisor (if it's like a lit program) or like a coffee mug from their new school. Then there's always chocolates or homemade cookies. I think those are the most common. If you're not that close i'd try to keep it under $20 though, graduate school apps are expensive enough- don't drain your wallet on gifts. If your LORs are nice people, they'll just be happy with a nice card too.
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One of my reccommenders is a recently diagnosed diabetic so sweets are a bad idea, especially since she hasn't really adjust to eating the sugar free variety. I don't feel comfortable giving gift cards because they have a monetary value attached and are impersonal. I don't even get friends or family giftcards unless they've specifically asked for them. I've known one of them for 8 years.
As for waiting, since I'm broke I don't currently have much of a choice.
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