can i use the same phrases in thank-you notes?

[prufrock0880]

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i personalize all my thank you notes using the conversation that i had with the interviewer, but is it ok to use identical sentences emphasizing what i liked about the visit? i just don't want the adcoms to get together and see that i used some of the same sentences in their notes. do you think this happens? thanks!

 

[mr burrito]

when i was at columbia i saw that they placed all thankyou notes in your file...might want to mix it up a bit

 

[asunshine]

whoops.

 

[MicroBugs]

Really? Gee- I figured it was something just to the interviewer, not something as part of the whole process, you know? Hmm... oh well

 

[cubbbie]

I write all thank you notes with the assumption that it might end up in my file somehow.

 

[kypdurron5]

I write all thank you notes with the assumption that it might end up in my file somehow.

Ditto. I might use the same openings/closings, but I try to say something interviewer-specific in the body.

 

[MadHopsMD]

i personalize all my thank you notes using the conversation that i had with the interviewer, but is it ok to use identical sentences emphasizing what i liked about the visit? i just don't want the adcoms to get together and see that i used some of the same sentences in their notes. do you think this happens? thanks!

try not to make your thankyou notes too long...keep it short and sweet. one paragraph = 6-7 sentences...by identical you mean, like your conversation? One of my interviewers asked me to read book X (he thought I would like that). I emailed him thank you blah blah blah, and said i bought the book at amazon and i look forward to reading it...which i am doing right now 😀

 

[badgerinchina]

i personalize all my thank you notes using the conversation that i had with the interviewer, but is it ok to use identical sentences emphasizing what i liked about the visit? i just don't want the adcoms to get together and see that i used some of the same sentences in their notes. do you think this happens? thanks!

You should be fine... as long as you're not using form thank you notes, I don't think they're going to dock you for leaving your thesaurus on your shelf and not coming up with multiple ways to say "I'm even more excited about coming to ____ after x, y, z..."

Just my two cents... also, I was talking to an assistant dean of admissions on one of my interviews last year, and she said a surprising number of applicants don't bother, so you're ahead of the game either way.

 

[Stolenspatulas]

when i was at columbia i saw that they placed all thankyou notes in your file...might want to mix it up a bit

what! no way. thats so stupid. i wonder if all schools do that (or most).

 

[etf]

what! no way. thats so stupid. i wonder if all schools do that (or most).

it wouldn't surprise me if those notes just get tossed in the file without ever being read

 

[mr burrito]

actually each thankyou note had a date stamped on it when it was received, as well as the applicant name being circled. (and no i wasn't searching through people's files, they were all spread out next to the phone they let me use)

 

[nintendo]

Thank you notes at Georgetown go into your file, as I was told personally by an adcom member. She even went on to ridicule notes (in a very Gtown-ish way) written on improper stationary. I guess there are enough schools that include the notes in your file that it never hurts to be as careful and thoughtful when writing them.

If I EVER get an interview I am buying the nicest damn thank you stationary in the whole world..lost track of how much this all costs anyway.

 

[TSK]

Thank you notes at UMich go into your file as well so I'm sure that plenty of schools do it. My notes are never more than 5 sentences or so, most of which are pretty generic. Then I try an throw something in regarding the convo that's specific to my interviewer.
🙂

 

[Darkshooter326]

Kind of a weird, SDN_paranoid type of question. How can the schools put the card in your file if you just sign the card with an illegible signature. I guess look at the return address or something, just a thought 😉

 

[zimmie256]

Bah, wish I read this thread yesterday... haha, oh well. Notes were definitely not identical, but poured from the same mold you could say. Well live and learn.

 

[foofish]

Kind of a weird, SDN_paranoid type of question. How can the schools put the card in your file if you just sign the card with an illegible signature. I guess look at the return address or something, just a thought 😉

Well, if the recipient can't figure out who a thank you note came from (illegible signature, no return address), then the whole point of a thank you note is shot...

 

[kypdurron5]

Thank you notes at Georgetown go into your file, as I was told personally by an adcom member. She even went on to ridicule notes (in a very Gtown-ish way) written on improper stationary. I guess there are enough schools that include the notes in your file that it never hurts to be as careful and thoughtful when writing them.

If I EVER get an interview I am buying the nicest damn thank you stationary in the whole world..lost track of how much this all costs anyway.

Improper stationery? What, did they send a thank-you note on a birthday card? Hey...that's not a bad idea >).