Do most people send a follow up 'thank you' letter to their interviewers?

[Old Man Rich]

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Just curious. I am considering doing it.

 

[humuhumu]

I've sent thank you e-mails. Hope that isn't tacky.

 

[Rendar5]

If you want to do it to be polite, go for it. Just don't think that it'll have any sort of impact on ur admission.

 

[Risa]

Yes sirree bob.

Thank you notes are good manners.

 

[oompa loompa]

I started to...after sending out 8 thank you notes (for 4 schools), I realized how pointless it was. Plus, an admissions director explained how it usually worked: the note gets put in your file, usually it isn't even opened, and come the end of the admissions cycle, your note, still in the envelope you so neatly sealed, gets tossed. With that being said, I'd still send a note if you really liked a certain school or interviewer.

 

[Turkeyman]

I started to...after sending out 8 thank you notes (for 4 schools), I realized how pointless it was. Plus, an admissions director explained how it usually worked: the note gets put in your file, usually it isn't even opened, and come the end of the admissions cycle, your note, still in the envelope you so neatly sealed, gets tossed. With that being said, I'd still send a note if you really liked a certain school or interviewer.

That sucks ;[

 

[oompa loompa]

aww, listen I didn't mean to burst anyone's bubble. That's just what one particular school told me. If I were you though, I'd send my cards to the interviewer's own school address--not the admissions office.

 

[LizzyM]

Yes, send the thank you note to the interviewers office, not the admissions office. It won't have any bearing on the admissions decision but it is a polite thing to do.

The real time to write to the admissions office expressing thanks for the opportunity to interview is when you are trying to suck up to the Dean & get off the waiting list.

 

[somewhere2010]

my pre-med advisor told a story a few days ago about a student not getting into a school precisely because he/she did not send a thank you note. the admissions director figured the student wasn't interested and gave the spot to someone who was, i.e. who HAD send a thank you note! he had spoken with the admissions director himself, so it's not heresay...

 

[ti89]

I have sent thank you emails and also some by mail. I have also not sent some thank you notes to some schools. I have acceptances from some that I didn't send any thank you notes to.

 

[badlydrawnvik]

I bought a box of thank you notes from Hallmark and have mailed one to each interviewer. It takes 2 minutes to write, I think it's worth the time. I usually appreciate that the doctors take time out of their schedules to do these interviews.

 

[bbuckeye]

Is it not enough to sincerely thank them in their office after the interview is over? Is it rude to not send a token thank you card to every person who talked to you? If you are waitlisted and still very interested in the school, you should just write a letter of intent or send in some other materials to show that you are still active. Worrying about thank you cards is like worrying about sending in LORs with ugly postage stamps.

 

[speranza]

So did you guys ask for their addresses the day you interviewed or did you call the school later to find out? It seems kind of strange to ask the interviewer for their address right after the interview...perhaps the secretary is a better idea? 😕

 

[Depakote]

So did you guys ask for their addresses the day you interviewed or did you call the school later to find out? It seems kind of strange to ask the interviewer for their address right after the interview...perhaps the secretary is a better idea? 😕

The sly way would be to ask for their buissness card or contact information "In case you have any questions later"... This gurantees you'll at least get an e-mail address, if not their full address.

 

[kaykay73]

i have sent thank you emails. i find that this is easiest for both me and the interviewer. i sent mine the day that i interviewed to be sure they remembered me. a couple of times the intereviewers have actually responded! so thats always a chance for some encouragement. its not like they would ever respond to a thank ou letter but it is very easy to respond to an email. those are my thoughts

 

[KevinZ]

From what's being said above, a thank-you letter can help you get in. At worst, it'll just be ignored. Given that, why not send one?

You've worked this hard to get into medical school. Why not take 2 minutes to write a thank-you? It just might push you over the edge.

I've interviewed at 7 places and have written 16 thank-you notes. I even wrote four notes to one school (3 interviews + one to the admissions office thanking ALL the people who took time to help me--not just the interviewers). Of the six schools I've heard back from, I'm in at all of them. I don't know if it made a difference, but I don't have any regrets about writing those letters.

 

[LadyWolverine]

Always, always, always write a thank-you note.

I have had nothing but good experiences at the schools that I have interviewed at this year, so I have always had something positive to say to each interviewer. Try to find one thing that really had an impact on you or that you talked about that you can address in the note. It doesn't have to be long-winded, but it should be sincere. Don't use a template. Just write from the heart. If anything, it's a good way to give your interviewers feedback. And it can't hurt.

 

[speranza]

Does anyone have any more ideas about how to get the interviewer''s address/contact information without asking them for it point blank?

 

[Scrub MD]

I overheard some pre-meds at my last interview asking the ass't dean of admissions what the name of their interviewer was. The interview was 5 seconds ago and they didn't remember the person's name? It was like a chain reaction when the first one asked because then I noticed a couple more asking for names. I thought it was pretty cheesy.

 

[Flopotomist]

Writing a thank you note can also help in a way not mentioned yet. While waiting for your interview, you can strike up a conversation with the secretary asking for the mailing info and correct spelling of the names. The secretaries really know what is going on, and can be good allies.

 

[Rendar5]

I got straight-out acceptances to 4 schools. I did not send thank you notes to any of those schools. I sent about 5 or 6 thank you notes. I did not get into a single school I sent thank you notes to.

 

[muzikbuf]

Does anyone have any more ideas about how to get the interviewer''s address/contact information without asking them for it point blank?

just ask them if they have a way to contact them if you have more questions. they'll either give you a card or their email address. if they do the latter, send them a thank you note via email as it is obviously their preference. otherwise ABSOLUTELY send a thank you card.

 

[Avenue Q]

University of Rochester has an address book out with all of their interviewers box numbers in it. it's actually kinda weird.

 

[argonana]

So did you guys ask for their addresses the day you interviewed or did you call the school later to find out? It seems kind of strange to ask the interviewer for their address right after the interview...perhaps the secretary is a better idea? 😕

Just google the name of your interviewer. It's that easy. You'll definitely hit their webpage with all their contact info. Plus, you can learn a little more about your faculty interviewer's specialty.

For student interviewers, it's harder...they don't have faculty webpages. I just email them my thank-yous. (I haven't even had to ask for their email addresses--they just offer them in case I'll have questions later.)