When to give gifts to recommenders?

[lissiehoya]

I just mailed the last materials for my last application yesterday (thank God!) and now have a whole new worry. I was planning to get small gifts for my recommenders, but I wasn't sure when to give them the gifts? They finished all their letters of recommendation back in December so I was thinking that either (a) I should get them gifts ASAP

Comments

[dreadnought]

If it was me, I'd give the gifts now. Then I'd keep them up to date as the admissions rolled in, either in person (if still at the school) or via email. And then when I decided where to go, I'd either stop by personally to thank them and let them know where I was going, or send them a thank-you card.

The second step - keeping them up to date as you get acceptances - kind of depends on your relationship with your recommenders, though. I was close to all three of mine, and they were my biggest cheerleaders, so it definitely felt like a shared process. If the relationships had been less personally warm, I probably would given them their thank-you gift and then waited until I committed to a school to let them know my future plans and thank them again.

[homericlaughter]

Agree with the above. Give them the thank you gifts now, and then, when you get in somewhere, stop by in person and thank them.

That way the thank you gifts will seem a lot less quid pro quo - like your gratitude was conditioned on the success of their letters.

[silverthief2]

I'm just writing thank you notes for my recommenders, but am sending them now as I finished my last app today. Then I will keep them apprised of my decisions, yes.

[weasleytook]

If you're doing thank you notes or gifts, I think they should be done now. Because really, regardless of whether you get in to X school or Y school, you're still grateful that they wrote the letters. So if it were me, I would do that and then contact them after the acceptances roll in and let them know.

[ravenword]

I sent thank-you notes (by mail) shortly after I turned in my applications, and then wrote to my profs again later (by email) to tell them who accepted me and where I was going.