That sounds really nice OP...glad your nice gesture of thanks was well-received.

OP here,
Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions! My DC wrote thank-you notes and we got small gift cards, DC dropped them off today and the teachers/counselors were very appreciative!

I write lots of recommendations for students in college (for grad school) and I agree with the views of teachers above - a real thank you is nice, and following up with me to let me know what happened is also great. Gift cards are nice, but definitely secondary and totally not expected. This is part of my job.

I work at an MCPS HS and write 20-25 recommendations a year for students. The best thank you is an actual thank you (notes are great, stopping by to tell me about the college outcomes and a big verbal thanks are great as well). You would not believe how many students don't bother to do either.

I've given many college recommendations (I work with older teens). I don't think I've ever gotten anything beyond a verbal thank you. I've never expected anything, either. I am happy to write recommendations--paying forward all the recommendations people wrote for me over the years. A gift card? That's nice, but, honestly, does not compare to a kid with a huge grin letting me know she got into college.

Anonymous wrote:Oh my God. My parents didn't do anything like this. Wouldn't have even crossed their minds. They just thought that these people were doing their jobs.

PP here (the T-shirt giver).

It may all just be a matter of perspective. Both my parents were teachers and I saw the time, effort and care that they put into college counseling and college recommendations. Sure, they were doing their jobs, but, with my parents, they often "did this job" on their own time. Imagine doing that for 40-45 kids.

So when it was our kids' turn, we had no problem giving a small token of appreciation to the people helping my children proceed to the next level. $10 tee shirt and a $20 gift card.

Oh my God. My parents didn't do anything like this. Wouldn't have even crossed their minds. They just thought that these people were doing their jobs.

OP here, thank-you very much!

We did "thank you" cards handwritten by DC's, a small gift card at a restaurant, and a cheap gift from the college that they ultimately chose (T-shirt, etc.).

A thank you note is nice but if you can afford it -- a gift card, flowers, or anything like that would be very nice. We usually did gift cards to book stores, Safeway, Starbucks, etc.

Is a thank-you note enough?
Gift card?
Flowers?
One teacher was very supportive in encouraging DC to apply for a scholarship at the teacher's alma mater. And DC got the scholarship! Should this teacher receive an additional gift?!
Thanks in advance for your feedback!