Do you think that they significantly help your app? Do you think moat interviewees send thank you notes?
How important are post-interview thank you notes?
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A think you note shows that you are polite. It also, in my opinion, shows a certain level of maturity that graduate schools like to see in their applicants.
I send thank you notes to thank my interviewers for the time and effort they put into interviewing me. I am legitimately thankful.
I don't think you should ever send a thank you note just because you think it will get your foot in the door. It is easy to spot an insincere thank you.
I have personally been offered a job over another candidate because--among other reasons--I sent a thank you, and the other candidate did not.
And, I was offered a spot at my top PhD choice after sending thank you notes. I think thank you notes can make you more memorable and can also showcase your kindness as a person.
The Insider's guide says it's perfectly legitimate to express your interest in the program(by mentioning specifics things you liked or were impressed by) in a thank you note.
Is that getting your foot in the door? I'm not sure. But it might be expressing your genuine interest in the program. Is that a bad thing?
It is absolutely acceptable. I always include something specific that I liked or that impressed me about the program (or a job).
I'm just saying that your thank you note should come from a place of honesty and gratitude. You shouldn't be sending the thank you note solely to gain admittance into the program.
At one of the programs I interviewed for, the first thing the DCT told us was "don't bother sending thank you notes, they are a just a waste."
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I can say that my adviser thinks about thank you notes when he gives offers. Because most applicants do send something, even if a brief "thanks for meeting with me" email, not doing so sticks out. In fact, every year my adviser polls the grad students to see if any applicants have contacted *us* after interviewing. For my adviser, sending a thank you is a matter of courtesy and not sending anything is an indication of lack of interest.
They don't accept someone into a program solely because they receive a thank you note. But, let's say two applicants are incredibly well matched. If one sends a thank you note, and the other does not, well that does show an interest in the program, a level of maturity, a politeness.
I think someone on another post said it best. A thank you note won't get you into a program, but not sending a thank you note may lessen your chances for admittance.
Of course, if the DCT tells you directly not to send thank you notes to his or her program, don't!!! (For me, personally, I would not want to attend a school in which the social graces are seen as a "waste of time." That comment by the DCT would have told me a lot about his or her style and philosophy. It would not have been the right choice for me.)
I don't see thank you notes as a waste of time. I am truly thanking the people who took the time to interview me. For me, I don't have an ulterior motive when sending out thank yous. I am just thanking them.
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It's funny how different styles of a program constitute another part of the "matching" process. I would actually have the opposite reaction to this. To me, coming clean and saying that these are a waste of resources is great! Think of all the paper that gets used on these, not to mention the postage and the man power used to ship and sift through them. All so applicants can say thank you yet again (I'm assuming that people also say it in person as they leave). If only people on my Christmas list would be so generous and admit that they don't need wrapping paper, Christmas cards, etc.I would still send thank-yous to programs that didn't mention this preference, but my estimation of the program that told me not to send one would go up.
I would still send thank-yous to programs that didn't mention this preference, but my estimation of the program that told me not to send one would go up.
To clarify, I sent my thank you notes via email. Thus, I wasn't wasting natural resources or the postage. : )
I tend to agree with you about holiday cards, etc. But, you do have to know the recipients. Some people prefer to have something to physically open. Others prefer the electronic greeting. Still others prefer not to get any card whatsoever. The same is probably true for doctoral programs.
Well keep in mind too that for both jobs and applications a thank you note is a sign of interest and nobody wants to extend an offer to someone who will reject it.
so, question.. i've gotten some responses to the thank you emails i have written to professors ive met at interviews. some of these responses say things along the lines of "i wish you the best of luck in the future/in your career." what does this mean? it's making me really worried! should i take it as, "it was nice to meet you, but you aren't going to be accepted into our program/you weren't good enough, so good luck!" ??? does anyone have any thoughts or insight? should i worry? or is it because they don't know what else to say?
Don't count yourself out until you have received a rejection letter. I'm sure that some professors are subtly telling applicants through their resposes that they won't be accepted into the program. But, some probably don't know what to say, or it is their standard email response.
ugh. that was what i was afraid of
LOL . . . Don't pull one sentence from my post and fret about it!!! : )
Their email responses to you could mean absolutely nothing!!! Keep that in mind! I would bet that some professors just have a standard response to everyone because they don't want to say anything until after the committee has met.
Again, Don't count yourself out.
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We're all going into psychology here, and we're all definitely trying to read into any response and any other nuance we can. It's easier said than done, but try not to do this....it's out of your hands now. Good luck!
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Yes, that's definitely overanalyzing and isn't helpful. I've gotten those responses before to thank you notes I've written to grad schools where I was accepted, and recently from faculty at the internship site where I was matched... so it's reading too much into it. You've done all you can.
It may be hard to remember, but a thank you note -is- supposed to be a thank you note... so even though people may have additional potential incentives to write one, at the end of the day you are (I hope) genuinely expressing your thanks for being invited to the interview... and the respondent is simply replying with warm wishes in return. So please don't read too much into it.
It may be hard to remember, but a thank you note -is- supposed to be a thank you note... so even though people may have additional potential incentives to write one, at the end of the day you are (I hope) genuinely expressing your thanks for being invited to the interview... and the respondent is simply replying with warm wishes in return. So please don't read too much into it.
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I would still send thank-yous to programs that didn't mention this preference, but my estimation of the program that told me not to send one would go up.
I'm on the same page as you KillerDiller
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So if a school did not give out their email addresses ect and the only person (student) who gave it out said "please dont send me thank yous" ...should I send one? I personally am the type to send them out but I dont want to get them annoyed or upset at me....
Well, you obviously don't send that individual an email. But, it is really easy to find the emails of the other people with whom you interviewed (or at least in most cases the information is easy to find on the websites).
I agree with robinsena. It is about politeness. I send emails because I genuinely want to thank the people. I don't see how it would harm you to send thank you emails (except for the person who expressly told you not to send one.)
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When should I send the thank you notes?
For one interview I sent it the next morning,
and for another that I was interested in, I'm giving it a few days so the note can also function as a "reminder."
What's your opinion on this?
I did mine usually the next day while at the airport. I didn't wait too long because before you knew it, you're on to the next interview and you don't want to forget!
I've been waiting about two days after the interview, partly to bring my name back up in my interviewers' minds. Just don't forget to do it if you decide to wait -- I actually did forget to write thank-yous for one interview after telling myself I'd do it in a couple days. Luckily it was a program that turned out not to be a good match for me, which may have been part of why I let myself forget.
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How do you go about finding email addresses? Other interviews the professors handed me a card saying "if you have any questions feel free to ask".
Most schools have email addresses listed on the faculty members' web pages. Just go to the clinical psychology program website and then look around for "program faculty" or something along those lines.
If for some reason this fails, you can also look them up the faculty in the directory that most schools have on their websites. Most directories include email addresses. . . .
If all else fails, snail mail works.
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I've been waiting about two days after the interview, partly to bring my name back up in my interviewers' minds. Just don't forget to do it if you decide to wait -- I actually did forget to write thank-yous for one interview after telling myself I'd do it in a couple days. Luckily it was a program that turned out not to be a good match for me, which may have been part of why I let myself forget.
I've been emailing notes 2 days post-interview as well, partly to make it a polite reminder of our conversation, and partly because I'm usually tired/rushing on post-interview morning. You could also write a message the day of the interview and stash it in Drafts if you want to control the timing without forgetting your big points.
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hey,
So in the post-interview follow up thank you email/letter, is it recommended that an applicant also include a question or two? A couple of the people I interviewed with said something along the lines of "I'm sure you'll think up many more questions that you'll have wished you had asked during the interview, so feel free to send me an email." Now, I feel I have to come up with some memorable, thought provoking questions (hehe). Or, do you think a simple thank you, this is what I liked about your program, and this is what we discussed during our interview would suffice?
So in the post-interview follow up thank you email/letter, is it recommended that an applicant also include a question or two? A couple of the people I interviewed with said something along the lines of "I'm sure you'll think up many more questions that you'll have wished you had asked during the interview, so feel free to send me an email." Now, I feel I have to come up with some memorable, thought provoking questions (hehe). Or, do you think a simple thank you, this is what I liked about your program, and this is what we discussed during our interview would suffice?
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Heh, I've had that issue with questions before. I'm a note-taking fiend and I usually fill in the blanks from the POI's interview with subsequent questions to grads and other faculty. I think you'll be fine with the plan in your last sentence if you don't have any burning questions.
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