Thank you note, post-interview.

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bluesTank

bluesTank

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So our pre-med advisor recommends sending a hand written thank you note to our interviewers afterwards. I just had my first two yesterday, and I was wondering what yall usually do (or plan to do).

Is this supposed to be a simple 2-3 sentence thank you (thanks for taking the time out...blah blah blah), or some kind of long discussion about our interview, recapping our talk, and something long in general.


Thanks guys
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I don't understand the point of it, anyways. What is it supposed to do? Reaffirm the positive things they think about you? Or make them feel guilty for the negative things they said about you? I guess it's just polite. Buy a card, write how appreciative you were for giving their time to help you get started on your future.
 
I've been told (hearsay) they they don't like getting thank-you notes. they see so many people and the notes are usually so generic it just doesn't matter much to them.
 
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armybound said:
I've been told (hearsay) they they don't like getting thank-you notes. they see so many people and the notes are usually so generic it just doesn't matter much to them.
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but i doubt they would like you more if you DIDN'T send one. i don't see how a thank-you note could ever hurt...(unless you wrote something inappropriate in it)
 
It was my understanding that a thank you note is pretty essential. They may not enjoy reading something long, but if you don't send it, it shows you didn't value the interview and the school as much, and that you're not doing everything possible to show your interest in the school. I hand-wrote thank you notes to all my interviewers: I basically said, "Thanks for your time, I really enjoyed/learned/am excited about _______, and hopefully I'll have the opportunity to join you at your fine institution." As far as hand-written or email, I hear it's totally personal preference; they don't really care either way. Unless the admissions office tells you to hand-write it...then do it their way. Good luck!
 
I've even heard of students writing thank you cards immediately post-interview and leaving them with interviewer's secretary (if they have one). Think that is a good idea?
 
dcp7 said:
I've even heard of students writing thank you cards immediately post-interview and leaving them with interviewer's secretary (if they have one). Think that is a good idea?
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I think this may come off as a bit sycophantic. At best, I would wait a few days and mail them a letter only if you have a great interest in the school. If I was an interviewer, I would probably appreciate a good, personal, thank-you note. If you're just going to be generic, don't bother.
 
Definitely send a thank you note...although I suggest sending via email...I did and I think it definitely did not hurt and likely helped some...email is good because it is not excess paper I would avoid send handwritten snail mail versions
 
Some schools specifically request that you DON'T send thank-you notes. I think two or three schools I interviewed with stated this, but the only example I can remember is Emory (they didn't even want emails, though oddly enough some of their interviewers sent emails to the interviewees).

I agree that you should only send a letter if there was something particularly exciting or spectacular about your interview experience. Otherwise, I think a thank-you note comes off as corny and trite.
 
I sent handwritten thank you notes. I just bought a pack at the drugstore, and usually filled up like 3/4 of the inside.

Something along the lines of thank you for interviewing me, I know your time is very valuable. Mention how you appreciated how they discussed x with you so freely (be it their research, the school, the attitude of the faculty), and how much you enjoyed having the chance to meet them. Maybe mention a little about what you like about the school and then sign.

I don't think it hurts you unless you do it at a school that specifically says - please don't or if you come off as terribly generic. I even sent thank you notes to my student interviewers. They probably just glance over it and then it gets added to your file - which is good because it shows more interest.

So I would say its a good thing to do.
 
Do you just mail the thank you letter to the office of admissions or directly to your interviewer?
 
ToastyBubble said:
Do you just mail the thank you letter to the office of admissions or directly to your interviewer?
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To the admissions office, they likely place it in your file. Keep it short, mention a little something from the interview (thank you for mentioning that program, I look forward in participating in it, if accepted, etc.), reiterate your interest in the school, thank them for taking the time to get to know you.
 
Thank you note on a plain white notecard will suffice. They are necessary, unless your interview specifically requests that you not send them. If you don't, it's rude - the same applies for job interviews! Say thank you and mention something that you enjoyed talking about with them. It doesn't have to be a love letter, and it definitely shouldn't profess that the school is your first choice.
 
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GreenShirt said:
To the admissions office, they likely place it in your file. Keep it short, mention a little something from the interview (thank you for mentioning that program, I look forward in participating in it, if accepted, etc.), reiterate your interest in the school, thank them for taking the time to get to know you.
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Thanks GreenShirt! I'm guessing that we still address the letter to our interviewers but mail it to the admissions office. Correct?
 
anyone mind sharing which schools request you not to send them thank you notes?
 
Hershi said:
anyone mind sharing which schools request you not to send them thank you notes?
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Most schools won't tell you not to send notes. Your interviewers will.
 
ToastyBubble said:
Thanks GreenShirt! I'm guessing that we still address the letter to our interviewers but mail it to the admissions office. Correct?
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that's exactly what i did. if the people are doing interviews they obviously are connected to the admissions office, thus they will get your letter at some point and i'm sure theres a good chance the letter will wind up in your file afterwards too.

for the record, i wrote a 3-4 sentence letter in word, and printed it off the day after my interview, so it would arrive within the week after i'd been at the school, and i did that for all of my interviews.
 
mave said:
Thank you note on a plain white notecard will suffice. They are necessary, unless your interview specifically requests that you not send them. If you don't, it's rude - the same applies for job interviews! Say thank you and mention something that you enjoyed talking about with them. It doesn't have to be a love letter, and it definitely shouldn't profess that the school is your first choice.
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First of all, do NOT forget to ask your interviewer if (s)he has a business card at the end of your interview. That should you give you snail mail & e-mail info. If not available, ask if (s)he has an e-mail address to which you might address any further correspondence or if you have any more questions.

Some ADCOM members will tell you to e-mail them if you have any questions (not a bad idea to think up one or two about 2 weeks after the interview, and before committee meets...just to bring your name to the forefront again). Obviously, if interviewed school is not high on your list of places to go, then don't worry about this extra bit.

But especially if your interviewer is over 50, (s)he will usually expect a thank-you note--what can I say--it's a generational thing! I suggest handwritten, on stationery. Go to your university book store & pick up a box of notecards with the university seal embossed on it (classy). Just something along the lines of, "Thank you for the time you spent with me on such-and-such date. I really enjoyed learning about the opportunities that Awesome Medical School provides and I hope to hear from you (positively) in the near future. Sincerely, Hopeful Pre-Med"

If something particularly interesting was discussed in the interview (fav sports team, your research, travel, etc.), another sentence referring to that will help jog the interviewer's memory.

If all you have is an e-mail address, then send an e-mail, but compose it formally & pay attention to your grammar & punctuation.

If students are on the interview committee & someone spent time with you, e-mail a thank-you there too. The more you do to stand out from everyone else is only a plus. I'm sure every aspect of you and your application will be discussed by the committee!

Hope this helps.
 
imamom said:
First of all, do NOT forget to ask your interviewer if (s)he has a business card at the end of your interview. That should you give you snail mail & e-mail info. If not available, ask if (s)he has an e-mail address to which you might address any further correspondence or if you have any more questions.

Some ADCOM members will tell you to e-mail them if you have any questions (not a bad idea to think up one or two about 2 weeks after the interview, and before committee meets...just to bring your name to the forefront again). Obviously, if interviewed school is not high on your list of places to go, then don't worry about this extra bit.

But especially if your interviewer is over 50, (s)he will usually expect a thank-you note--what can I say--it's a generational thing! I suggest handwritten, on stationery. Go to your university book store & pick up a box of notecards with the university seal embossed on it (classy). Just something along the lines of, "Thank you for the time you spent with me on such-and-such date. I really enjoyed learning about the opportunities that Awesome Medical School provides and I hope to hear from you (positively) in the near future. Sincerely, Hopeful Pre-Med"

If something particularly interesting was discussed in the interview (fav sports team, your research, travel, etc.), another sentence referring to that will help jog the interviewer's memory.

If all you have is an e-mail address, then send an e-mail, but compose it formally & pay attention to your grammar & punctuation.

If students are on the interview committee & someone spent time with you, e-mail a thank-you there too. The more you do to stand out from everyone else is only a plus. I'm sure every aspect of you and your application will be discussed by the committee!

Hope this helps.
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it definitely helps. thank you!
 
OP: with your application (and URM status) don't worry about the thank you
 
So if you have two faculty interviewers do you need to send two thank you cards? I might be making this more complicated then it really is :rolleyes:
 
badasshairday said:
Do you just send the thank you letters to the admissions office address?
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That's what I did.

Interviewer's Name
c/o X Medical School Admissions Office
Address
 
ToastyBubble said:
So if you have two faculty interviewers do you need to send two thank you cards? I might be making this more complicated then it really is :rolleyes:
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In a word, "Yes."

And OP, your stats & ECs are amazing. Do the gracious thing & send the thank-you's regardless.

If all you have is Admissions Office address, use that.

Good luck all! BTW, son had a horrible interview at one school and got accepted anyway (tho he's not going there), so don't let what you perceive as a bad interview discourage you.
 
I have a question that has to do with thank you notes in a different situation. I have the AMCAS fee waiver, and so many schools are waiving their secondary fees, should I send them thank you notes? :confused:
 
I figured I'd bump an existing thread for this question . . . what if the interviewer has no degree attached to her name? For instance, her business card just says "Jane Doe" and below that "Admissions Committee Member"?

How should one address a thank you note to her? I assume she's not "Dr. Doe", but how can I be sure she's "Mrs. Doe" and not "Miss Doe"?
 
SEND SEND SEND a thank you email/note. At least a "Thank you very much for making my interview experience so relaxing/fun/informative/insert adjective here" is necessary. It doesn't have to be a long letter to convince them to accept you. I just got a "Congratulations" email from one of my interviewers for my acceptance, and now I feel so ill-mannered for not having sent a thank-you note after my interview. No one will dislike a Thank You note. If you mail it to them, and include your email address, they don't have to feel obliged to respond, but at least they have ur email if they want to thank you for your thank you note.
 
you can use Ms.Doe :p
rogerwilco said:
I figured I'd bump an existing thread for this question . . . what if the interviewer has no degree attached to her name? For instance, her business card just says "Jane Doe" and below that "Admissions Committee Member"?

How should one address a thank you note to her? I assume she's not "Dr. Doe", but how can I be sure she's "Mrs. Doe" and not "Miss Doe"?
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How late is too late to send a thank you? I know for job interviews they say <24 hours and otherwise don't bother, is that the same case with this? I've been completely caught up with travelling from interview to interview and haven't written any for my interviews in the past 2 weeks. I guess, at this point I'd be snail mailing it (because there's no excuse for it taking that long to type up an e-mail)
 
stixx said:
How late is too late to send a thank you? I know for job interviews they say <24 hours and otherwise don't bother, is that the same case with this? I've been completely caught up with travelling from interview to interview and haven't written any for my interviews in the past 2 weeks. I guess, at this point I'd be snail mailing it (because there's no excuse for it taking that long to type up an e-mail)
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I think you may be overthinking this. You are not going to be judged based on when you send your thank you. If you're that worried about it, don't send one. I sent thank you's to my interviewers, sometimes 2 weeks after. I actually sent the first few snail mail, then decided that was a waste of time. I saw how others who used e-mail sometimes got responses from their interviewers, encouraging them or at least acknowledging them. It's really just a courtesy; it even makes more sense if you put yourself in their place and imagine taking time out of your day(s) to interview applicants.

Don't let people on these forums make you think that the thank you is going to tip the scale in your favor. the decisions are based on a variety of factors, not all interviewers make admissions decisions, and most likely they already evaluated you weeks ago, if not directly after the interview. So, your chances of acceptance not being affected, as long as you're polite in your notes, I don't see how you could go wrong, even if they are a few weeks later. PLUS, if they still remember you and decide to reply to an e-mail for example, it'll be all the more comforting to you that you left such a good impression. Good luck, and sorry for the long post.
 
If I were an interviewer I would hold a thank you note against the person interviewing because I think that they are trying to suck up.
I didn't send one and I have an acceptance.

Regardles I dont think that the + or - impact that the card has would be enough to get you an acceptance/rejection.
 
IMHO, Thank you notes have ABSOLUTELY no bearing on your admissions outcome. You don't send them to influence your outcome, you send them because it's a professional courtesy to thank someone for interviewing you.

(Although I suppose if you wrote something offensive you could kill your chances...)
 
I have never sent a thank-you note to any of my interviewers because it is a waste of time for all parties involved. So far I have been accepted to 4 schools, 2 of which are in the top 25.
 
mj4md said:
I think you may be overthinking this. You are not going to be judged based on when you send your thank you. If you're that worried about it, don't send one. I sent thank you's to my interviewers, sometimes 2 weeks after. I actually sent the first few snail mail, then decided that was a waste of time. I saw how others who used e-mail sometimes got responses from their interviewers, encouraging them or at least acknowledging them. It's really just a courtesy; it even makes more sense if you put yourself in their place and imagine taking time out of your day(s) to interview applicants.

Don't let people on these forums make you think that the thank you is going to tip the scale in your favor. the decisions are based on a variety of factors, not all interviewers make admissions decisions, and most likely they already evaluated you weeks ago, if not directly after the interview. So, your chances of acceptance not being affected, as long as you're polite in your notes, I don't see how you could go wrong, even if they are a few weeks later. PLUS, if they still remember you and decide to reply to an e-mail for example, it'll be all the more comforting to you that you left such a good impression. Good luck, and sorry for the long post.
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I wouldn't be expecting it to help my chances, but I'm worried about a delayed letter hurting my chances. I'm just one of those who was taught to write thank yous for everything so I was feeling guilty about not having done so by now. Thanks for the reality check. :thumbup:
 
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