Thank-you note to a professor after an admission
Who wrote it
Ibrahim Jaber, an architecture graduate from Amman, has been admitted to a master’s in Delft. He writes to the professor who wrote his recommendation and reviewed his portfolio.
The writer and every detail about them are fictional.
What went into the template
- Who are you thanking?
- Dr Layla Mansour, who wrote my recommendation letter
- What for?
- The recommendation letter, and the hour she spent on my portfolio; I have been admitted to the MSc in Architecture at TU Delft, starting in September
- A personal detail
- She told me to cut my portfolio in half and keep the library project; in my interview the committee asked about almost nothing else
- Tone
- Warm
The writer’s facts, as typed into the template’s form. The example uses nothing else.
The example
Thank-you note: Thank-you
Numbered notes in the margin explain each choice.
Dear Dr Mansour,
Greeting
I wanted you to hear it from me first1: I have been admitted to the MSc in Architecture at TU Delft, starting in September.
The news
Note 1: Opening with the news, personally, makes the note a gift rather than a duty.
Thank you for your recommendation letter, and for the hour you spent on my portfolio2. You told me to cut it in half and keep the library project. In my interview, the committee asked about almost nothing else.3
What she did, and what it changed
Note 2: He thanks her for something specific beyond the letter, which shows he noticed.
Note 3: The detail that proves her advice mattered. Teachers rarely hear this, and they remember it.
I will write again from Delft.4 Thank you for everything you taught me.
Staying in touch
Note 4: A small promise that keeps the relationship alive, without asking for anything.
Warm regards,
Ibrahim Jaber
Structure
How it is built
Each part in order, with its share of the words.
Checklist
Before you send
Go through your own draft line by line.
Before and after
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Lines like these turn up in many drafts by Arabic speakers. Each fix keeps the meaning and changes only the English.
Thank you for your efforts and your kind cooperation.
Thank you for your recommendation letter, and for the hour you spent on my portfolio.
I will never forget your favour all my life.
Thank you for everything you taught me.
Thanks for help me with the portfolio.
Thank you for the hour you spent on my portfolio.
Questions people ask
Should I thank a professor by email or with a handwritten card?
Email is perfectly fine and arrives at once. A handwritten card is a lovely extra if you can give it in person. What matters is the specific detail.
When should I send it?
As soon as you have the result, and before you post it anywhere else. A referee who hears the news from you feels part of it.
Should I thank a referee even if I was not admitted?
Yes. Thank them for their time, tell them the result briefly and say what you will try next. You may need them again.
Every writer in this library is fictional, and so is every detail about them. Universities and companies appear only as places someone applies to; the professors, papers and facts mentioned around them are invented for teaching. Use the examples to learn the moves, never as text to copy: committees notice, and your own facts are stronger.