Quick tip about thank you notes

[oldman]

When you send off thank you notes to your interviewers. Address it to the admissions office. Some admissions offices throw your letter into your application file and it will be looked at by the adcom when making your decision. If you send it off to the interviewer directly it may or may not ever go through the admissions office.

It just makes things easier.

On the other hand, not all schools even look at those letters.

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[Exene]

Why would it matter if it went into your file? I thought we had reached the consensus that the thank-you note was just for decorum between you and your interviewer, and did not improve your file or your chances or otherwise help you kiss ass.

 

[heelshmeel]

Originally posted by Exene
Why would it matter if it went into your file? I thought we had reached the consensus that the thank-you note was just for decorum between you and your interviewer, and did not improve your file or your chances or otherwise help you kiss ass.

I am pretty sure that would really make you look like you're kissin up....

now unless you and your interviewer really hit it off... let me change that... unless you and your interviewer really really really really really really hit it off!

 

[Exene]

Originally posted by heelshmeel
I am pretty sure that would really make you look like you're kissin up....

Wait, do you mean sending the thank-you note or having the note placed in your file? I think sending a note is OK, socially acceptable and courteous- but I definitely wouldn't want the note to make it into my file, and that was NOT my intent when I sent out notes to my interviewers!

 

[oldman]

Originally posted by Exene
Why would it matter if it went into your file? I thought we had reached the consensus that the thank-you note was just for decorum between you and your interviewer, and did not improve your file or your chances or otherwise help you kiss ass.

You can treat the letter like a letter written after a job interview. You can use it to remind the interviewer about some of your good points. It doesn't have to be a kiss ass letter, just something that is friendly while putting in a plug for yourself. The thing to realize is that this letter if written poorly can also impact a decision in a negative way.

When I did interviews last year, some schools told me to send the letter to them because they will place the letter in our applicant files.

In the end, I'm not sure how much impact it has. It's just another aspect of the process.

 

[oldman]

Originally posted by Exene
Wait, do you mean sending the thank-you note or having the note placed in your file? I think sending a note is OK, socially acceptable and courteous- but I definitely wouldn't want the note to make it into my file, and that was NOT my intent when I sent out notes to my interviewers!

Sometimes I didn't have a direct address of the interviewer. So I would address it like this:

Interviewer Name
c/o Admissions Office
Med School
1234 Main St.
Anywhere, USA

Thus the letter would go through the admissions office. Some admissions offices told the applicants that they would keep copies of the letters for our files and then forward a copy to the interviewer.

If you mailed it directly to the interviewer, just remember that it might end up in your file anyways because the interviewer might be on the admissions committee. Just make sure you spend as much effort on your letters as the essays you write for secondaries.

 

[oldman]

Originally posted by Molybdenum
Is it a good idea to send interviewers Christmas card? Gifts for the Holidays, etc? Greeting phone calls? Tell me what do you guys think...

I think that would be on the extreme side. A thank you note would see more than adequate in my mind. Plus I hate writing in general, so I couldn't stand writing lots and lots of cards and stuff.

Definitely no gifts. That might be considered a bribe.

 

[oldman]

Originally posted by heelshmeel
I am pretty sure that would really make you look like you're kissin up....

now unless you and your interviewer really hit it off... let me change that... unless you and your interviewer really really really really really really hit it off!

Kissing up depends on how you write your letter.

I think a thank you note post interview would be the same as one written for a job interview. You highlight points about your interview that might help the interviewer remember you from amongst all the other applicants.

 

[Adcadet]

Originally posted by oldman

Definitely no gifts. That might be considered a bribe.

But if I did want to send a bribe, what's a good bribe these days?

 

[oldman]

The reason I made this post was because someone messaged me asking how they should send off a thank you note. So I thought I'd share my ideas on how do it with the rest of you. Like anything else on SDN, you can use the information if it is useful for you.

 

[oldman]

Originally posted by Adcadet
But if I did want to send a bribe, what's a good bribe these days?

How about you give them an offer they can't refuse?