I am a mature fourth year student applying to grad and law schools. I attend a very small university in western Canada. I have asked three Professors for references to each of the schools to which I am applying and they have graciously and enthusiastically agreed to do so. I have taken a number of courses from these Professors; one of with whom I am still taking my final courses.I would like to send them a thank you note, of course, but I wanted to know if it would be okay to enclose a gift card as well. My current Professor brings tea from a national chain to every class and I was thinking about a gift card from the chain. As for the other Professors, I am not sure of their preferences. What would be an appropriate amount? I have a great fondness for all three Professors and want to show my gratitude to them. The card would thank them not only for their references, but also for the time they spent imparting their knowledge to me over the past four years.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Penny from Prince George
Wait until the letters have been sent and received, and class is over, before you give your prof anything. And know that a heartfelt note citing your gratitude is really enough, and more than most students manage to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the prof you're currently taking the class with gets nothing beyond the thank-you note until grades are done. They'd just have to give it back.
ReplyDeleteI often get gift cards for Amazon or similar from students who request refs. One time a student sent me a small collection of her photos. The cost does not matter one bit. It's truly a gesture that will be met happily my most profs.
ReplyDeleteA note will suffice in many cases...NOT an email.
I received a giftcard (during the school year) last year from a student who requested a letter of recommendation. (The giftcard was enclosed in a greeting card, and I didn't open and discover it until some time later.)
ReplyDeleteIt didn't feel right to accept it, yet it would have been very awkward to return it. I ended up giving it to a friend because it made me feel icky to think of using it myself.
So, I don't recommend it. A thank-you card would be nice, though.
I always feel icky about gift cards, since they are in many ways actual currency. A gift that's somewhat handmade (like a tea sampler basket, baked goods, a small piece of art if you do that) seems better to me. Accompanied of course by a nice note.
ReplyDeleteIf you do go the gift card route, Amazon is always good if you don't know somewhere specific for the professor. No more than $10 I think. And definitely NOT until the letters are confirmed to be delivered, and you're out of any of their classes.
In my experience the proffie gift is given as a tiny thanks for doing the work of getting a rec letter together, keeping it current, sending it out over time, etc. NOT for the actual wording of the letter.
ReplyDeleteIcky? I'm stunned that two writers have the same view of receiving a gift card. I completely accept and respect your own view of it, but it just differs so much from what I've ever felt. It's not like anyone's ever handed me an envelope full of cash! Haha.
My goodness, Penny, I sure do hope you're coming to our program! I'm not sure what's with all these people who seem to feel "icky" at the drop of a hat! I think a gift card in a small denomination (like 5 or 10 dollars) is a *lovely* idea, though *of course* they can't be given until after grades are posted. You're very kind and thoughtful to recognize how much work is involved in writing letters. Don't let these downers talk you out of your sincere kindness and gratitude! Have a great time in grad school!
ReplyDeleteLike Compound Calico and Cass, I’m a little surprised at the anti-gift giving sentiment around here, so I thought I would provide a contrary opinion. However, it seems best to remember that apparently profs differ widely in their feelings about gifts from students, so it is best to stick to a card and, if you must, a very small, inexpensive gift, delivered well after class has ended and the letters are in.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I have accepted many gifts at many different times from my students and never felt an iota of concern about it. When a student does give me a gift, it is usually on the last day of class. I don’t think they do this to bribe me about grading their final; they just don’t want to track me down over the no-man’s land of break. And frankly, every student who has ever given me a gift has been so far within “A” range for the course, I’m not sure what they would be bribing me for (I might feel differently if I was getting gifts from “D” students).
In my experience, a nice, well thought out card really is the most meaningful thing. We proffies eat that shit up. If you must give a gift, I would stay away from the gift cards though (with the possible exception of the tea professor, as the tea gift card actually says something about your observations of his/her tastes). The gifts I liked the most were not totally generic things. It might just be my personality, but I really liked the ones that were slightly funny and related to my field in some way. I have a small collection of goofy student gifts displayed in my office now. All these gifts clearly cost under about $10.
I'm not sure where people are getting the idea (from me at least) that I am "anti-gift giving." I certainly agree that giving a gift is appropriate and polite, and is a small recognition for the work that goes in to writing a (or several) letters of recommendation.
ReplyDeleteFrankly the "icky" feeling regarding a gift card comes from the fact that there's an actual number attached to the thing. An appropriate amount is around $10, but the professor's effort is certainly worth more than that. Besides, as Prof Glabella points out, most gift cards are pretty generic.
$5-$10 seems an appropriate amount - you mentioned tea, but a Timmy's card also goes over great [a Canadian reference here, folks]. As others mentioned, the note of thanks is the most important thing.
ReplyDeleteI've never had icky feelings about accepting tokens of appreciation like this - for an undergrad, writing a reference letter from scratch for the first time is a lot of work, and is work I'm not required to do (no one has 'number of reference letters written' as a metric of job performance for tenure and promotion, right?). I see the gift for what it is - a gesture of appreciation for carrying out extra work I didn't need to carry out.
Reference letters for grad students, on the other hand, are another matter. It is in our own self-interest (for filling out the 'contribution to training' section of grant applications) that a grad student we supervised go on to a PhD, postdoc, employment in field of study etc., so writing a reference letter is a part of the job.
I'm always happy to get a thank-you note AND (this is key) a followup on where the student actually got in and is going! I see nothing wrong with a gift card that isn't generic -- i.e., for the tea place, which shows that you recognize the professor's individuality. Or for a local independent bookstore. I'm less enamored of the truly generic like Amazon.com.
ReplyDeleteI've gotten thank you cards at the end of the semester, and small gifts here and there, and as long as they come at the end of the semester, I don't mind. A couple of students have sent me very nice flower arrangements after they've gotten into whatever program they were seeking, which were obviously pretty expensive, but I had no way of not accepting them.
ReplyDeleteI think a thank you note/card would be sufficient.
I, too, find generic gifts with a specific monetary value a bit discomfiting, but as long as the value is relatively low (the under-$10 threshold sounds about right to me, too) and the gift comes after grades are in, I'll accept them with some comfort, as long as I have done something that counts as going a bit above and beyond.
ReplyDeleteBut yes, the substantive thank-you note (I don't mind if it's emailed) is key, as is a follow-up to let your recommenders know whether you got it, and perhaps an update in a year or so (especially if you don't need another letter; in that case, it's still appreciated, but of course a bit self-serving). The more specific you can be about how your interactions with the proffie you're thanking prepared you for success in what you're doing now, the better.
Also, if what you learned as an undergraduate helped you in your later career, it can never hurt to write a letter saying so to the relevant faculty member's immediate supervisor (usually the department chair), cc'd to the faculty member. Whether such praise actually matters will vary a lot from institution to institution (the more teaching-oriented, the more it will matter), but I don't think it could hurt. At the very least, it might counterbalance any complaints from irate snowflakes and/or parental units that have found their ways into the faculty member's file.
Thanks for bringing this up Penny! I'm in the same position and have been wondering what to do. I think, after reading this, I'm going to wait until I get either a letter of rejection or acceptance. That way I can bring in a card, we can chat about what I'm going to do next, and the whole thing will be neatly wrapped up.
ReplyDeleteIf you actually BRING me a box of Tim Horton's donuts from the frozen tundra down to our southern shithole, I would be delighted.
ReplyDeleteI think your declared course of action is a solid one.
This arbitrary $10 limit is bullshit. I can be bought, but not for $10.
ReplyDeleteI thought you folks had Krispy Cremes? Timbits don't travel well.
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else from North Ontario, I may as well add, I firmly believe that I am a distant cousin of Tim Horton's. We probably all are. This does not get us a discount.
Grad student here. My referees got a note and a bottle of wine after I knew all the letters were out and I had started receiving offers. No idea how whether they felt 'icky' or not but I thought it was the least I could do. I don't like gift cards because they have a specific amount attached to them.
ReplyDeleteI'd ask for impossible stuff like a working Interrociter, or a nuclear submarine.
ReplyDeleteThat would shut them up.
Strelnikov is now channeling NPR's Car Guys, though with a slightly more threatening edge.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think the rules for grad students -- especially Ph.D.s -- are different, and depend a great deal on the nature of the relationship as well as departmental/institutional culture. Absolute minimum is a "thank you" in the dissertation acknowledgments (but I know at least one person who skipped the acknowledgments altogether because (s)he couldn't figure out what to say about an advisor). A bottle of wine sounds fine, as long as you're pretty sure the referee isn't a non-drinking alcoholic.
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ReplyDeletePenny has asked that I post this for her:
ReplyDeleteI want to extend my deepest thanks to all of you who took time to respond; it was very thoughtful of you and I wanted you to know your comments were very helpful. I should also mention that some time ago, on RYS, a post was done, a "wishlist" of requests Profs had when presented with requests for student referrals. I photocopied that page and kept it for the time when I would need references. I wanted to make sure that when the time came, I could present my requests with all the necessary information that would make the Professor's job easier and take as little time as possible.
Thank you for the suggestion on the cost and the type of gift card. I intend to give my Professor who brings the tea to class, a $10.00 card from Timmy's (as suggested by Prof. Poopiehead; a fellow Canadian). Your suggestion about the Amazon card was useful, however, it reminded me that both of my other two Professors enjoy reading - outside of academic material - so I am will enclose a card each from Chapters. I just want them to know, of course, that I appreciate all that goes into providing references, but also that I pay attention to their interests, especially since they have provided three letters of reference to three different schools. I intend as well, to send hand-written, personalized thank you notes (not email - I only use that for informal communication), after marks are in.
Prof. Compound Calico; I agree that the gift is in thanks for the mechanics of the ref letter; not the wording. The letters are returned to me, but they are signed across the back flap, so I would not have the opportunity to know what is in them. I LOVED your comment, "It's not like anyone's ever handed me an envelope full of cash!" I had a mental picture of that and I thought it was hilarious.
To those Professors, especially Prof. Frog and Toad,and Prof. Contingent Cassandra, who suggested following-up with the referees as I progress, I thought this was a lovely idea and certainly something I enjoy. As I mentioned, I am very fond of these Profs. and keeping in touch this way would be nice.
I had thought about wine, but I don't know if any of the Professors drink, and then there is the issue of white, red, foreign, domestic...
Thank you again to all of you kind enough to take time to respond. Thank you for allowing me to participate. I read CM every day and learn something new all the time. Please know that even though your jobs may make you bang your heads against walls at times, there are students out there, like me, who appreciate everything you do, who really are listening and will never forget the effort you make.