Thank you notes to admissions committee members at my chalk talk?

[MJ1127]

I had an MD/PhD interview where I gave a chalk talk before the members of the graduate school admissions committee. I am writing thank you notes now and wondering how I handle the committee members. I know the letters all have to be different, and was thinking I would write a note mentioning a question the committee member asked me (they each asked at least one). I was extremely nervous (nontraditional applicant who had not given a presentation in years) and know I misspoke on a couple of points, or did not have time to answer the question to the extent I would have liked. Should I correct/expand upon my answers in the notes? Any other pointers?

Thanks,
MJ1127

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[ImmunoLove]

Instinctively, I wouldn't correct or expand on pointers in a thank you note, but perhaps others here might be more knowledgable than I on that subject. I personally was divided about sending thank you notes to MD/PhD interviewers simply because there were so many of them and I didn't want to clog their inboxes (but then I do consider it a nice gesture and struggled a bit over the decision, especially since I sent TY notes to MD-only traditional interviewers).

If you do send a thank you note, keep it short, sweet and personal (one thing that stands out in the convo you shared).

 

[Datypicalpremed]

You probably already know this, but don't expect your thank you note to help you get an acceptance from the school. Most interviewers finish their review of you or have made their decision shortly after the interview (perhaps in part to avoid thank you notes from sweetening the pot). Overall, a thank you note should be written to show that you appreciated the time that the faculty sacrificed from their busy schedule to interview you.

Having said that, I have heard from "reliable" sources that thank you notes, IF they have any effect at all, might make faculty bring your application up sooner when the adcoms have their biweekly or monthly meetings. But this shouldn't be expected and is highly variable - it definitely doesn't need an overly complicated thank you note for this.

 

[ImmunoLove]

You probably already know this, but don't expect your thank you note to help you get an acceptance from the school. Most interviewers finish their review of you or have made their decision shortly after the interview (perhaps in part to avoid thank you notes from sweetening the pot). Overall, a thank you note should be written to show that you appreciated the time that the faculty sacrificed from their busy schedule to interview you.

Having said that, I have heard from "reliable" sources that thank you notes, IF they have any effect at all, might make faculty bring your application up sooner when the adcoms have their biweekly or monthly meetings. But this shouldn't be expected and is highly variable - it definitely doesn't need an overly complicated thank you note for this.

To be more specific, a Thank You note shouldn't be more than three short lines (conventionally speaking).

 

[MJ1127]

Thanks to all for the advice.