Thank you emails

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Is this a bad idea? Does it look bad? I would think they are the most convenient for all parties involved, especially the admissions staff. Also, you know for certain that your message will get to the correct person because you email them personally. What do you guys think? Should I just send thank you notes instead? And are these necessary or even that common in the first place?

 

[drhobie7]

I think a card is much nicer. It shows more thought. I think it's classier as well. Emails are so 'cheap'. Plus you never know if the person will get it or if it'll get routed to the spam folder. It doesn't have to be a $3.50 Hallmark card. You could just grab some postcards from your city.

 

[Audio]

I think a card is much nicer. It shows more thought. I think it's classier as well. Emails are so 'cheap'. Plus you never know if the person will get it or if it'll get routed to the spam folder. It doesn't have to be a $3.50 Hallmark card. You could just grab some postcards from your city.

Thanks. I already sent a thank you email to an interviewer. Do you think it would be too much to also send him a card as well? I think it could work out because I just interviewed there last week and maybe an email would get to him more quickly and make a faster impression for when the adcom meets soon. I guess I should plan on sending thank you cards to all of the people involved.

 

[NA4242]

Usually adcom meets right after you leave your interview and they make their decision, so sending a thank you card a week after your interview wouldn’t help.

 

[Lostinbul]

Is this a bad idea? Does it look bad? I would think they are the most convenient for all parties involved, especially the admissions staff. Also, you know for certain that your message will get to the correct person because you email them personally. What do you guys think? Should I just send thank you notes instead? And are these necessary or even that common in the first place?

I have sent mainly emails except to Arizona because I didn't have the email addresses so I just sent thank you letters. I actually think that a letter written by you expressing your thanks for the interview and the time that the interviewers took out of their day..ect... would be better than a actual "thank you" card, however, that is completely just my opinion. I imagin that the letter is more impressive but the email might make it to them before they forget who you are!

 

[drhobie7]

Thanks. I already sent a thank you email to an interviewer. Do you think it would be too much to also send him a card as well? I think it could work out because I just interviewed there last week and maybe an email would get to him more quickly and make a faster impression for when the adcom meets soon. I guess I should plan on sending thank you cards to all of the people involved.

Naw, it's not that big of a deal. Just some kind of thank you is good. For the future I think cards or letters are nicer though. It is true that some admissions directors make the decision the same day as your interview but others do not. Also, if you wind up on a waitlist every little bit helps. You can also bring pre-written cards/letters with you to your interviews and just fill in the names. Give them to the secretary before you leave.

 

[I'mFillingFine]

Usually adcom meets right after you leave your interview and they make their decision, so sending a thank you card a week after your interview wouldn’t help.

My advisors (and someone I know on an admissions committee for an undergrad university) said that earlier is better for thank you notes, but that later is ALWAYS preferable to no note at all. At least, it can't do any harm...I think that anyone appreciates some thoughtful mail!

Check the other thank-you note threads for more advice and discussions on the topic. (An important one for me 🙂 I love those old-fashioned etiquette things...)

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=17

I know there are others; I didn't mean to just forward the one I had written in

 

[I'mFillingFine]

Thanks. I already sent a thank you email to an interviewer. Do you think it would be too much to also send him a card as well?

I think that one is fine, so you don't seem nagging. And honestly, e-mail versus paper is just a matter of taste and personal style.

 

[phremius]

no one will care and neither cards nor emails will make an iota of difference.

 

[drengineer]

I sent thank you emails to all my interviewers.
Usually people prefer emails to anything else because it is fast, convenient and it is also considered formal in case you are wondering.

 

[oldboy]

I was recently at an interviewing workshop where members and deans of the admissions committees at medical, pharm, PT, and PA schools were presenting. Every single one of them said that thank you letters are courteous, but have absolutely no bearing on their decision. A few of them went so far as to say it is a bit like brown-nosing. Still though, I guess it couldn't hurt.

 

[La Miraflorina]

I always thought thank you notes/emails/letters etc... were excessive! How many of you sent thank yous? How many simply thanked your interviewer or the admisisons staff as you left?

😕

 

[I'mFillingFine]

I strongly feel that thank you notes or e-mail are absolutely not brown-nosing, or a bribe, or excessive, or anything like that. Sure, a gift, or flowers, or a bribe of any sort is EXTREMELY inappropriate.

But if someone did something that you are appreciative for...you tell him or her! It's just plain etiquette and an act of courtesy.

I've spoken to make interviewers about this, and one in particular who has been interviewing for around 15 years said that when you receive a note from someone, especially since not many people send thank you notes, it really helps him remember the person and highlights that they are interested in the school!

You should not be writing notes just to make yourself look good anyway, so why should it matter if it makes a difference? You should stand behind your actions and your academic history proudly, and let them decide. I just do it to let the school know how much I enjoyed my day there and how I know how hard everyone on the adcom committee works throughout eat interview cycle.

Sure, for some interviewees, it won't make an iota of difference. But firstly, I don't feel that it's the point, and second, it really can't HURT. NO one would get offended at one, unless there's a check inside.

I don't mean to sound bitter, it's just frustrating that so few people write letters anymore and that some feel so worried about what will add and take away points from the adcom's opinion.

 

[toofache32]

...And honestly, e-mail versus paper is just a matter of taste and personal style.

I don't know. I would never even CONSIDER sending a "thank-you" email to someone. It's just tacky, period. Especially for dental school administrators who tend to be from a previous generation. Sending them that kind of note on an email is like sending them a text-message or fax. You might as well make it say "Thank U 4 the interview. It really rocked..."

I realize many of you teenie-boppers these days have always grown up with computers and the internet, but email is NOT a formal means of communication for older people (myself included) who use it because it's convenient but could have done without it just fine.

 

[dexadental]

I am with you on that. Email is by no means formal at all, and is in fact, highly impersonal I'd say. It is convinient and easy to use (for some), but I'd feel a thankyou letter would carry more meaning within a handwritten note. Of course we all have different takes on this...I didn't write any thankyou letters come to think of it...perhaps I should have, but I believe they have so much to deal with regarding admissions and administration that I'll save the thankyou for after an acceptance ::crosses fingers::. Good luck everyone, I can't believe Dec 1 is approaching sooo soon! 🙂

 

[I'mFillingFine]

I completely agree; I was only saying that both are used because the argument was between no thank you or a thank you. To me, any sort of note, whether e-mail or paper, is better than NO note.

But not only is it more formal, I think that it means a lot more; the receiver holds it in his/her hands and reads a handwritten message. How many of us see an e-mail, perhaps let out a slight smile as we read it, and then move onto the rest of the Inbox with nary a thought? I'm definitely with both of you!!