"Thank You" letter post-interview

[Darkskies]

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Hi,
I just recently had an interview and I would like to send thank you letters to my interviewers. Should I opt for thank you cards where I hand-write my letter or would writing out a letter on Microsoft Word and sending that in be an option? My penmanship is blocky and rather atrocious looking so I really would prefer an alternative. On the other hand a printed letter on Word can be drab in comparison. What sort of information should I include in the writing? I would like to show my interest in the school and that it's one of my top choices but I also don't know if being so direct in stating my desire to go to the school would look like I'm only writing the letters so that I can get in... How long should each letter be considering I only had 30 minutes of time with each interviewer? I was thinking maybe a short paragraph? Any and all advice will be much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[dmf2682]

Get a lady to write them out for you. Make sure you give her a thank you note too though!

 

[HumbleMD]

Hi,
I just recently had an interview and I would like to send thank you letters to my interviewers. Should I opt for thank you cards where I hand-write my letter or would writing out a letter on Microsoft Word and sending that in be an option? My penmanship is blocky and rather atrocious looking so I really would prefer an alternative. On the other hand a printed letter on Word can be drab in comparison. What sort of information should I include in the writing? I would like to show my interest in the school and that it's one of my top choices but I also don't know if being so direct in stating my desire to go to the school would look like I'm only writing the letters so that I can get in... How long should each letter be considering I only had 30 minutes of time with each interviewer? I was thinking maybe a short paragraph? Any and all advice will be much appreciated. Thank you!

But, aren't you? Sorry, being too cynical (but pretty truthful).

In the general laws of thank-you notes, hand written is best. I had these little notecard sized stationary cards (but the bigger, not the 3x5 notecards) that I used. You could do an 8.5x11, but you shouldn't be writing that much. Just include a thanks for their time and maybe a comment such as "I really enjoyed discussing XXX during the interview" to show you actually remember them (and maybe they'll remember you).

The truth is, your interviewer will have written you up well before they ever receive the thank you card. Additionally, few schools track them (some - Michigan- even specifically request you DO NOT send them), so the chances of this influencing your application are slim to none.

As for the school being your top choice - it's pretty early to have an opinion on this. If it truly is, say it in an intent lettter written to the director instead. If it's not truly your first choice, then it's a pretty useless statement to adcoms and directors.

 

[zwitterion34]

Get a lady to write them out for you. Make sure you give her a thank you note too though!

I think this is a really good advice. 😎

 

[rika13]

I have a similar question regarding interviews at schools that do MMIs. Should I write a letter to all my interviewers when I am spending only about 8 minutes talking to them?

 

[SBR249]

8 minute interview where they also interview pretty much everyone else too? A thank you note sounds silly to me.

"Thank you for spending those 8 min with me. They mean a lot. The single question you asked me - a curve-ball ethical question - will stay with me to the day I die."

Nah.

I second this, I think handwritten thank you notes should be reserved for when you have a meaningful conversation with someone. Writing one that would take about as long as your actual interview sounds silly. I'd probably just thank them for their time at the end of the interview or, at most, send them an email if they provide one.

 

[nysw]

I just sent mine a short 4 sentence 'thank you' email. Thank you for talking with me, I really liked your insight on ___ and ____. If you can work in expressing your interest in the school, cool, if not, whatever.
Mostly, you should be doing this because you're a polite kid, not b/c you think they'll write more favorably about you.