Post-Interview Thank You Letters

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So, I just learned that these are a thing. It totally makes sense but I just wanted to clarify some things.
1) Will schools tell us if they want/don’t want them?
2) Who do we write them to?
3) What is the content? Like, is it specifics of “I liked this, thanks for this conversation” or is it more just “I thank you for the consideration...” and so on?
4) How Long should they be?
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MemeLord said:
So, I just learned that these are a thing. It totally makes sense but I just wanted to clarify some things.
1) Will schools tell us if they want/don’t want them?
2) Who do we write them to?
3) What is the content? Like, is it specifics of “I liked this, thanks for this conversation” or is it more just “I thank you for the consideration...” and so on?
4) How Long should they be?
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@Goro @gonnif @LizzyM
 
MemeLord said:
So, I just learned that these are a thing. It totally makes sense but I just wanted to clarify some things.
1) Will schools tell us if they want/don’t want them?
2) Who do we write them to?
3) What is the content? Like, is it specifics of “I liked this, thanks for this conversation” or is it more just “I thank you for the consideration...” and so on?
4) How Long should they be?
Click to expand...

1) All schools should accept it and you should remember your interviewers name so you can send them a short email
2) You write it to your interviewer since they're usually the one who'll go back to the committee and (can) be your advocate
3) You thank them for their time and try to bring in some topics you discussed so that it helps them better remember you
4) A paragraph or two at max, they're not going to want to read something that's long
 
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JustAUser said:
1) All schools should accept it and you should remember your interviewers name so you can send them a short email
2) You write it to your interviewer since they're usually the one who'll go back to the committee and (can) be your advocate
3) You thank them for their time and try to bring in some topics you discussed so that it helps them better remember you
4) A paragraph or two at max, they're not going to want to read something that's long
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You address it to your interviewer but send it to the generic email ([email protected]..?

Do you do any kind of thank you for MMI? What about in traditional interviews with more than one interviewer?
 
LabileEmotions said:
Some schools will tell that it is not necessary. Stanford, in particular, said that while they liked to hear how great they were, it does not matter in their decision-making.

It is generally good form to write Thank You notes to each person who interviews you and to the Director of Admissions, especially if they organized your day well and been helpful

As with any Thank You note, it does not have to be long, but it needs to be specific, not generic. It should always reintegrate your interest in the school.

I hand wrote mine and sent in the post, 'cause that's how my momma raised me. But there are variants such as scanning a hand written note and sending electronically. You could send an email, but I personally find that cold.

Not of this is likely necessary, I just felt it boorish not to.
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How did you mail them (like, to what address)?

For electronic upload, Would you use the upload function if the secondary offers them?
 
In all the interviews I went to, we were told that they will except thank you letters. As far as how to send them, it was always by email. I was either given a card by the interviewer at the end of the interview with their email on it, or at the end of the day we were given a sheet with the emails of everybody who was interviewing, or we were given a single email and told to send all of our letters individually to that one email.
 
MemeLord said:
You address it to your interviewer but send it to the generic email ([email protected]..?

Do you do any kind of thank you for MMI? What about in traditional interviews with more than one interviewer?
Click to expand...

I believe that you should be able to find your interviewers email through the med school's directory
I recall reading in a book that sometimes the interviewers also forward your thank you note to the admissions committee so don't be lazy and write the same thing to multiple interviews at the same school (just changing the names but keeping the body the same) because they might store it in your file and they'd be able to see that

For MMIs, I'm not certain but I don't think you get to know the person's name necessarily and you won't interact with them as much as a traditional interview. Also there might be many stations so you wouldn't be able to remember it.

In this day and age, I think emails are better because they get sent faster and it's easier for med schools to not have to go through the trouble of organizing all this paper mail and having to hand it to the interviewers.
 
(S)he answered it previously


MemeLord said:
Did you just write down their names?
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Schwifty said:
I was either given a card by the interviewer at the end of the interview with their email on it, or at the end of the day we were given a sheet with the emails of everybody who was interviewing, or we were given a single email and told to send all of our letters individually to that one email.
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LabileEmotions said:
Wow, that is very impressive. Well done. I did not send Thank You notes for my two MMIs, and will attend one of them.
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Ya, I wrote all my thank you letters as emails, and kind of just used a template for all of them, so writing those thank you letters literally took like a couple minutes each. I would usually just write my thank you letters once I got to the airport after the interview.
 
While waiting for my interviews, I googled my interviewers to make sure I could find their emails. One was online and the other one actually offered me his card so that worked out great.

I highly, highly recommend using email because a) it’s faster, before they forget you and b) you might get a reply (I did from one, and it was invaluable). I used my thank you note to thank them for their time and for specific things they did/ said that I appreciated and to reiterate my love for the school. Just be sincere, not generic.
 
• Depending on who your letters are addressed to, you might send them directly via email, or to the adcom who’ll pass them on for you. Some schools will tell you to upload them to the portal.

• Most schools will give you information on how to send these in and who to address them to. Again, in some cases it’ll be to the AdCom. In other cases, you’ll address them to your interviewers directly. In some cases, schools will tell you that Thank you Notes add an administrative step and they actually don’t want you to send them in.

You’ll be able to figure all of this out on the day of your interview(s). You shouldn’t worry about it till after your actual interview.
 
catnip12 said:
• Depending on who your letters are addressed to, you might send them directly via email, or to the adcom who’ll pass them on for you. Some schools will tell you to upload them to the portal.

• Most schools will give you information on how to send these in and who to address them to. Again, in some cases it’ll be to the AdCom. In other cases, you’ll address them to your interviewers directly. In some cases, schools will tell you that Thank you Notes add an administrative step and they actually don’t want you to send them in.

You’ll be able to figure all of this out on the day of your interview(s). You shouldn’t worry about it till after your actual interview.
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Thanks! Didn’t even realize they were a think till today and first interview is in a week. Figured I would learn as much as I could about them, but if they will let us know there...
 
Schools will often tell you whether they like them or not.

E.g. Mayo expects them, University of WA actively doesn’t want them. Other schools don’t care

They will usually address this on interview day if not before. If it’s not explicitly addressed, ask. they will also usually say how they want it sent (I.e. will provide your interviewer’s email, or will ask that you send it to admissions).

I started off doing the hand written card thing, but for schools like Mayo who talk about you in a committee mtg very soon after this can be a bad move. You want that thank you note into their folders before they talk about you. So I switched to email.

I wrote very specific thank you notes and got several awesome responses over the course of the season. strongly suggest you write them as soon as you can after, or if you can’t muster the motivation at least make bullet points of everything you can remember from your interview/day
 
These 100% don’t matter. They don’t matter for med school. They don’t matter for residency. They don’t matter for jobs.

Do them if you want but they don’t matter. They just make you feel good. If you do write them, less is more, more is less, be thankful, no groveling, no top choice BS. Just say thanks. Don’t expect a reply.
 
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Tenk said:
These 100% don’t matter. They don’t matter for med school. They don’t matter for residency. They don’t matter for jobs.

Do them if you want but they don’t matter. They just make you feel good. If you do write them, less is more, more is less, be thankful, no groveling, no top choice BS. Just say thanks. Don’t expect a reply.
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Agreed. To add on: don't expect any benefits from writing one
 
Moko said:
Agreed. To add on: don't expect any benefits from writing one
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This seems to go against the grain of many posters here, but I firmly believe one of my thank you letters/ continued contact with one of my interviewers got me accepted post-waitlist into my current school. Without too many details, he went to bat for me with the dean directly after I was waitlisted. I think if I hadn't followed up via thank you letter this may not have happened.

I can't see any situation in which a thank you letter would hurt, and maybe in very select situations like mine it may help.

Edit: wanted to clarify that while I agree one shouldn't "expect" any benefit, there is a small chance there could be one.
 
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mangoangel said:
This seems to go against the grain of many posters here, but I firmly believe one of my thank you letters/ continued contact with one of my interviewers got me accepted post-waitlist into my current school. Without too many details, he went to bat for me with the dean directly after I was waitlisted. I think if I hadn't followed up via thank you letter this may not have happened.

I can't see any situation in which a thank you letter would hurt, and maybe in very select situations like mine it may help.
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Yes.

While I obviously respect the wise physicians/faculty here, I want to push back against the notion that they never matter.

For most schools, they probably don’t. Some schools do not want them, and they will say so. And for the some, they do. For example, for Mayo, they are important. Mayo includes the letter in your file, and that was true of several other schools I interviewed at.

And yes, of course, don’t expect a response.
 
I think it is a little funny to write thank you notes after an interview unless they are paying for you to interview there... Typically, I would write thank you notes after someone takes me to a nice dinner and pays for it (and by that I mean my wife would write a thank you note and it would be pretty). If a school expects it I would oblige, but otherwise, it seems fake to me.
 
LabileEmotions said:
Fake or not, it is social convention. Adhering to social norms is rooted, still today, in notions of class. Many of these conventions are archaic, but I am continually surprised at how frequently they are adhered to in myriad social contexts. Manners and the presentation of self matters.
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I never said I wouldn't do it. I am just giving my opinion that it seems out of place in certain situations.
 
I can't recall exactly which ones, but I do remember some of the schools told us not to send them. Some will say it doesn't matter if you do or don't. It's a nice gesture and all but I only ended up sending them to interviewers at one school.
 
TempuraOreos said:
I can't recall exactly which ones, but I do remember some of the schools told us not to send them. Some will say it doesn't matter if you do or don't. It's a nice gesture and all but I only ended up sending them to interviewers at one school.
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It appears to me that there are some schools that really like them. Those are the ones I will do it for. Beyond that, seems like a waste of time/resources.
 
I misspelled a name on a thank you letter.....Do I follow up with a correction....? It is a one-letter typo.

@gonnif yell at me that I can't change it now
@Goro gimme the xanax
 
gonnif said:
drop and give SDN 20
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The next exercise will be the push-up

*THE PUSH-UP*

Half-right....FACE
Front leaning rest position...MOVE
IN CADENCE

One, two, three, One!
One, two, three, Two!
One, two, three, Three!
One, two, three, Four!
One, two, three, Five!
One, two, three, Six!
One, two, three, Seven!
One, two, three, Eight!
One, two, three, Nine!
One, two, three, Ten!
One, two, three, Eleven!
One, two, three, Twelve!
One, two, three, Thirteen!
One, two, three, Fourteen!
One, two, three, Fifteen!
One, two, three, Sixteen!
One, two, three, Seventeen!
One, two, three, Eighteen!
One, two, three, Nineteen!
One, two, three, Twenty!

Position of attention....MOVE
Half-left....FACE
 
A couple of articles on this topic:

www.prospectivedoctor.com

Writing the Perfect Thank You Letter After a Medical School Interview

The medical school interview isn't the end of the application process. Here's how to write an effective thank you letter after your med school interview.
www.prospectivedoctor.com www.prospectivedoctor.com

mededits.com

Medical School Interview Thank You Letters | MedEdits

After interviewing at a medical school, learn the most effective way to send a thank you note. Follow our guide by medical school admissions consultants.
mededits.com mededits.com
 
I don't think they're important at all.
First cycle: Hand-written, thoughtful thank you notes --> No acceptances
Later cycle: Sent zero cards, got several acceptances, MD and MD/PhD.

To answer your questions:
1) Will schools tell us if they want/don’t want them? Eh, usually they don't say.
2) Who do we write them to? Up to you. Most send it to the interviewers themselves. E-mail or call admissions asking how you can send thank you notes in. Jot down your interviewers name/save your folder from interview day to stay in touch.
3) What is the content? Like, is it specifics of “I liked this, thanks for this conversation” or is it more just “I thank you for the consideration...” and so on? K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid (from the office). Short and sweet. Dear Dr/Professor so-and-so. Thank you for the wonderful interview. It was a pleasure discussing X with you and learning about y school of medicine. Sincerely memelord.
4) How Long should they be? 3 tops 4 sentences.
 
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