Gifts to Those Who Got Me into Med School

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theunderdog

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so getting my acceptance was the BIGGEST achievement in my life. it reaffirmed all my years of my hard work and not to mention my life of beating adversity.

i know about 90% of getting into med school is attributed to me-- grades, MCAT, activities, etc. but honestly, another 10% goes out to others that have contributed to my acceptance-- my 5 recommenders.

i am very close to all 5 recommenders. what gifts do you guys think i should get them? i have already sent them thank you cards for writing my recommendations. but i want to send them each a gift to show them how much i appreciate their role in my acceptance.
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A card and a nice bottle of wine would probably be fine. You're a student, they don't expect much and a heartfelt thank you is probably more than enough.
But if you don't want to get them alcohol (age? don't know what good wines are? don't want to offend their sensibilities? think it's tacky?) and you don't mind spending some real cash then what about this? (The cheap one, of course.) Yeah, for 5 people it would add up... but fill it with a nice flower arrangement with a card stuck in there and you've got a hell of a thank you gift.
 
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Nice bottle of wine or champagne. Profs love booze more.
 
wine could be expensive though..... plus i don't know squat about buying wine.

with the books ideas, i dont know what they like reading....
 
i got my advisors and profs fine pears from harry and david...if i get into my 1st choice im going to send them a nice bottle of wine.
 
If I get into my #1, I'm going to get them each something that I know they'll love! In addition, I'll keep in touch with them for the rest of my life.
 
I like the B&N gift card idea if you don't like the bottle of wine (that's what I'd do! Depending on what part of the country you live in, you can get a good bottle for under $10.)

Another idea (but more expensive) would be to get 'em a gift certificate to a nice restaurant in your town/city for them and their sig other.
 
Wine isnt expensive. Just get them a $9.99 bottle of chardonnay.
 
theunderdog said:
wine could be expensive though..... plus i don't know squat about buying wine.

with the books ideas, i dont know what they like reading....
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Chateau Greysac (Bordeaux), Cru Bourgeois, 2000...great wine, great vintage, and easy on the wallet (~$17).
 
MarzH05 said:
Wine isnt expensive. Just get them a $9.99 bottle of chardonnay.
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Wine snob alert (me)...just picking out a $9.99 bottle of chardonnay aint gonna cut it. At that price range it's very possible to get some good wines, but if you don't know what to look for, you're more likely to get crap. Best thing to do is to go to a decent wine/liquor store, give someone who works there your price range, and let them pick something out for you.
 
letmein10 said:
Wine snob alert (me)...just picking out a $9.99 bottle of chardonnay aint gonna cut it. At that price range it's very possible to get some good wines, but if you don't know what to look for, you're more likely to get crap. Best thing to do is to go to a decent wine/liquor store, give someone who works there your price range, and let them pick something out for you.
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HAHAH....that was the cheap college student in me talking. When I get money, I really want to get into wine tasting so I can figure out what good wine actually tastes like. At the moment, a 9.99 bottle of chardonnay is fine in my book.
 
You are a wine snob, not that anything's wrong with that.
I say just get a bottle of moscato, everyone loves that swill. It's like a sickly sweet alcoholic grape juice. Great for kids. Desert wines are the best.
 
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MarzH05 said:
HAHAH....that was the cheap college student in me talking. When I get money, I really want to get into wine tasting so I can figure out what good wine actually tastes like. At the moment, a 9.99 bottle of chardonnay is fine in my book.
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Even better. Franzia. A box is much more classy than a bottle.
 
Well, if you want to get eccentric, you could always get them a fine bottle of Georgian wine or Armenian cognac. They are world famous, and probably cheaper than French or Californian.
 
all this wine talk has got me confused.

i dont want to be cheap or anything with my recommenders....

i'm willing to spend about $10-20 for each recommender...

but possibly more for 2 of those recommenders....

wine would be a good idea now that u guys have convinced me. so which brands fall between $10-20?
 
theunderdog said:
all this wine talk has got me confused.

i dont want to be cheap or anything with my recommenders....

i'm willing to spend about $10-20 for each recommender...

but possibly more for 2 of those recommenders....

wine would be a good idea now that u guys have convinced me. so which brands fall between $10-20?
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See recommendation above...any Cru Bourgeois from Bordeaux (it'll say these things on the bottle, or you can just ask the store clerk) is a great value. These come from excellent wine-makers that weren't around during the original classification of Bordeaux so you get good value from them. Go for the 2000 vintage. It's recent, so it will still be cheap but it was an excellent year.
 
mercaptovizadeh said:
A list of semi-sweet Georgian wines: $25.95-$42.95

http://www.flowers2moscow.com/cgi-b..._match=yes&product=Wine&cart_id=7612492.21236

Excellent Armenian cognac: $49.95

http://www.flowers2moscow.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?cart_id=7612492.21236&pid=122

If you're cheap ( ;) ), you should probably go with Australian or Californian wines. They are more pleasant (fruitier) than French wines.
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cognac? come on...unless your recommenders are the old-school, dinner coat-wearing, pipe-smoking type professors, it is unlikely that you'd find a congnac drinker among them. Nothing against cognac...I like it, but not many people would drink it leisurely or even serve it to guests. Stick with the basics...
 
BrettBatchelor said:
Even better. Franzia. A box is much more classy than a bottle.
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Oh I remember plenty of crazy nights walking through the quad carrying a huge box of wine. Man we were cheapskates.
 
letmein10 said:
cognac? come on...unless your recommenders are the old-school, dinner coat-wearing, pipe-smoking type professors, it is unlikely that you'd find a congnac drinker among them. Nothing against cognac...I like it, but not many people would drink it leisurely or even serve it to guests. Stick with the basics...
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what's the basics?

my budget is $10-20....
 
theunderdog said:
what's the basics?

my budget is $10-20....
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As suggested before, go to a wine store and tell them your budget. They'll have a good idea about what old-ish people like.
Or....
moscato
It may not be up to snuff to a connoisseur, but you're a student so you aren't expected to know too much about wines. Besides, it's a decent dessert wine.
 
Depends on red or white. If you're looking at white from Germany, look for "Qualitateswein mit Pradikat" on the label. MUST have the "mit Pradikat" on it .. just qualitateswein is the lower quality. Most things with a QMP on the label will be just fine, and several are even in the $11-12 range which are really quite good.
 
just get 'em a six pack of natty lite
 
hmmm, gift gift gifts. I really think the thank you note and the calls you made to your writers is enough. The best gift of all was for them to hear they helped you get into medical school. But, I would reccomend a nice box of chocolates or something unique, from a quality candy shop.
 
This thread has inspired me to try to inspire someone else to make a poll about alcohol consumption amongst SNDers. Im too lazy to do it myself. Any takers?
 
I have not been lucky enough to receive any acceptance yet. But should I get an acceptance, I was thinking about inviting my interviewers over for dinner at our house and give them a B&N giftcard or something. I have been fortunate to have 3 wonderful professors at NC State...my other recommender was my manager at work - I actually took his class before I started working for him.

Best wishes.
S.
 
justskipee said:
hmmm, gift gift gifts. But, I would reccomend a nice box of chocolates or something unique, from a quality candy shop.
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Candy is dandy but....


A bottle of sparkling wine (champagne or a similar bubbly) so that the professor can drink a toast to your continued success is nice too.

Frankly, I'm a candy girl myself but champagne.... :love:
 
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