Graduation Thank You Notes
What the graduate writes afterwards. Do them within a month while you still remember who gave what, and keep each one to three lines.
For money
The most common graduation gift and the most awkward to acknowledge. Say what you did with it, or what you will.
- 1
Thank you for the very generous cheque. It is going straight towards the deposit on the flat, which is the least fun and most useful thing possible.
- 2
Thank you for the money — it paid for the train to the interview, so it has already earned its keep.
- 3
Thank you. I am saving it for the trip, and I will send you a photograph from wherever it takes me.
- 4
Thank you for your generosity. It made the move a lot less frightening.
For a gift
- 5
Thank you for the watch. I have wanted one for years and never got round to it.
- 6
Thank you for the pen — I have already used it to sign something important, which felt appropriate.
- 7
Thank you for the books. You have chosen well, as always.
For being there
- 8
Thank you for coming all that way for four hours in a hot hall. It meant a lot that you were there.
- 9
Thank you for the photographs, and for putting up with the queue.
- 10
Thank you for coming. I know it was a long day.
To parents
Almost nobody writes this one, and it is the one that gets kept for thirty years.
- 11
Thank you for four years of phone calls at strange hours and never once telling me I had made the wrong choice.
- 12
Thank you for the money you did not tell me you were sending.
- 13
Thank you for driving up every time I said I was fine.
To a teacher or supervisor
- 14
Thank you for supervising the project. You were right about the second chapter and I am sorry it took me so long to admit it.
- 15
Thank you for the reference, and for the four years before it.
- 16
Thank you for your teaching. I will be using it for a long time.
A system for getting them done
Graduation thank yous defeat people because the gifts arrive over a month from people you barely see.
- 17
Keep a list from the first gift. Name, what they gave, and whether they came.
- 18
Write five at a time. It is a two-week job at five a sitting, and an impossible one otherwise.
- 19
Do the money ones first — those are the people most likely to wonder whether it arrived.
- 20
Ask a parent for the list of who gave what. They will have kept it whether or not you did.
For people who could not get a ticket
Ceremonies cap guests, so most people who care were not there.
- 21
Thank you for the card. I know you would have been there if there had been a ticket.
- 22
Thank you — I have sent you the photographs, including the terrible one of the hat.
- 23
Thank you for everything through the whole three years, not just today.
Wording when the gift was money and you have spent it
- 24
Thank you — it went on the deposit, which is the least exciting and most useful outcome.
- 25
Thank you. It has already been spent and I regret nothing.
- 26
Thank you for the cheque. It covered the first month while I found work.
The one to write even though nobody expects it
- 27
To a parent: thank you for the years, not the day.
- 28
To a sibling who sat through the whole ceremony without complaining once.
- 29
To the friend who talked you out of dropping out.
- 30
To a supervisor or tutor who wrote the reference.
What to say when you have no news yet
Most graduates write these before they have a job, and every card feels like it needs an update.
- 31
Thank you — no news yet on what comes next, but I will tell you when there is.
- 32
Thank you. I am giving myself the summer before I decide anything, which everyone tells me is sensible and nobody quite believes.
- 33
Thank you for the gift. Job hunting starts in September; I will keep you posted.
- 34
Thank you. You will hear about the next bit when I know what the next bit is.
Thanking people who supported you along the way
Not gift-givers. The people who made the three years possible.
- 35
Thank you for the reference that got me the placement. It changed the whole degree.
- 36
Thank you for the phone calls in second year when I wanted to leave.
- 37
Thank you for the money you sent that you told me not to mention.
- 38
Thank you for the spare room in the summer of the resits.
- 39
Thank you for never asking me what I was going to do with it.
Practicalities
- 40
Buy the cards and stamps before the ceremony. Afterwards you will not.
- 41
A postcard is enough. It does not have to be a formal card.
- 42
Email is acceptable for anyone you contacted by email in the first place.
- 43
If you are moving, do them before the move, not after. They will not survive the boxes.
Templates you can fill in quickly
Three shapes cover almost every graduation thank you.
- 44
For money: "Thank you for the very generous [cheque/gift]. It is going towards [thing]. It made a real difference."
- 45
For a gift: "Thank you for the [item]. I have already [used it / put it somewhere]. It was very thoughtful of you."
- 46
For attending: "Thank you for coming all that way for a very long ceremony. It meant a lot that you were there."
- 47
Change one clause per card and you have thirty personal notes in an afternoon.
Who people forget
- 48
The person who proofread the dissertation.
- 49
Whoever paid the deposit on the first flat.
- 50
The friend who kept you in the course during the bad term.
- 51
A school teacher from years earlier who set the whole thing going. Almost nobody sends this and it is the one that gets framed.
If you are also writing from a family
- 52
Parents often want to thank people who supported the graduate. That is a separate card, not a shared one.
- 53
Do not sign a card from "the family" if the gift was to the graduate personally.
If the gift came with an expectation
Some relatives give with strings, and the thank you note is where the strings get pulled.
- 54
Thank warmly for the gift and say nothing about the advice attached to it.
- 55
You are not obliged to answer a question about your plans in a thank you note.
- 56
If they asked something directly, one line: "Still deciding — I will let you know when I do."
- 57
A thank you note is not the place to have the argument, and it is a very effective place to not have it.
Notes from parents, on the graduate’s behalf
- 58
Thank you for coming, and for the very generous gift to Ella. She will write herself, but we wanted to say it too.
- 59
Thank you for everything you have done for him over three years, not just today.
Questions people actually ask
How long do I have to send graduation thank you notes?
About a month. After that people assume it is not coming, and you will have forgotten who gave what.
Do I have to send a card for money, or is a text enough?
For money, a card. A text is fine for a gift handed to you in person; a cheque in the post deserves paper back.
Do you have to send thank you notes for graduation gifts?
For money and posted gifts, yes — otherwise people do not know they arrived. For a gift handed to you at the party, a message is enough.
How do I remember who gave what?
Keep a list from the first gift, or ask a parent. They will have kept one whether or not you asked them to.
What do I write if I have no job lined up?
Say so plainly and without apology. Every graduate writing thank you notes is in the same position, and a card that admits it is more likeable than one that performs a plan.
Is an email an acceptable graduation thank you?
For anyone you normally email, yes. For money or a posted gift from a relative, send something physical.
What is the fastest way to write graduation thank you notes?
Use one of three templates — money, gift, attendance — and change a single clause in each. Thirty personal notes then takes an afternoon rather than a month.
Who do people forget to thank after graduating?
The proofreader, whoever paid a deposit, and an old school teacher. The last one is rarely sent and almost always kept.
Do I have to answer questions about my plans in a thank you note?
No. Thank them for the gift and leave the question alone, or answer it in one line. A thank you note is a very effective place not to have a conversation.