thank you letters after interviews?

[DrBuzzLightYear]

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i thought this was a weenie idea during med school apps, but are people doing this for residency interviews as well??

 

[neilc]

i am doing it. i appreciate the chance to check out programs, and i know it is a lot of work, so i say thanks. no big deal, just a quick note, takes a minute costs a few cents and says something about the person sending it, IMHO. if you think it is a weenie idea, they are certainly not required, and prob won't make a difference in your final ranking, so blow them off. also no big deal.

 

[Carbo/Taxol]

Yes...I will be writing thank you notes

 

[goodsamob]

We meet with our chairman quarterly to review our progress. We are allowed to see our file which has all of our recent reviews plus everything from the interview process. Low and behold, in that file is my thank you note that I wrote after the interview, with subsequent comments from the chairman. I realize I am but one applicant from one program, but I can't help but to think the gesture was well taken. I would highly recommend taking the few seconds to write them. It could set you ahead of the guy that doesn't. 🙂

 

[lmh14]

Should we send them to the Chairman? Or to the Residency Director? Or to everyone we interview with while we are there? (That last one isn't going to happen!!) Any thoughts?

 

[community]

We meet with our chairman quarterly to review our progress. We are allowed to see our file which has all of our recent reviews plus everything from the interview process. Low and behold, in that file is my thank you note that I wrote after the interview, with subsequent comments from the chairman. I realize I am but one applicant from one program, but I can't help but to think the gesture was well taken. I would highly recommend taking the few seconds to write them. It could set you ahead of the guy that doesn't. 🙂

Are you saying that your school contacts all of the programs where you interview and requests a copy of your file which they then review with you?

 

[klmr]

I think that was a resident talking, about the file the chairman of their residency program has about them and their interview date.

I sent thank you letters to every person I interviewed with at every school and always tried to remember some personal something we spoke about during the interview so that hopefully it would jog their memory. If nothing else, it can't hurt you, and it isn't that hard to do so why not?

Are you saying that your school contacts all of the programs where you interview and requests a copy of your file which they then review with you?

 

[md80]

That sounds a little excessive don't you think? I was definitely going to write a generalized thank you to the program...but how do you even address them separately for all the interviewers? Same address for the department, different names??? Crazy.

I sent thank you letters to every person I interviewed with at every school and always tried to remember some personal something we spoke about during the interview so that hopefully it would jog their memory. If nothing else, it can't hurt you, and it isn't that hard to do so why not?

 

[klmr]

About half the places I went provided an address list for all their interviewers, and for the rest you just put the person's name on it and the program general address and it will be placed in their mailbox or whatever. I just think a general note will get stashed in a file with no one really reading it but hopefully a personal thank you would be appreciated and affect someone's overall opinion of you before the big discussion about their rank list. Crazy or not, I got my first choice so I wouldn't change a thing I did.

That sounds a little excessive don't you think? I was definitely going to write a generalized thank you to the program...but how do you even address them separately for all the interviewers? Same address for the department, different names??? Crazy.

 

[VeeSee]

Oops

 

[22031 Alum]

I know this is an old thread that was bumped, but I think it's worth a comment.

In my opinion, the only time you shouldn't send a follow-up "thank you" note or email is if the program explicitly says not to. Some programs expect some sort of follow-up. It will be put in your file, and your communication or lack thereof may come up at later discussions- like a rank meeting. That may be kind of dumb, but it's the nature of the beast and the culture of some programs. Unfortunately, unless they specifically tell you their policy, there's no good way to find out which programs have that expectation. So better safe than sorry.

99% of the time, a brief email to the program coordinator is sufficient. If you are given contact information for the individual people you interviewed with, write individual, brief notes. It shouldn't take more than two minutes, and you're MS4s, what else are you doing with your time? 😛

 

[soon2BdocC]

I will be sending thank you notes. I want my last impression to be one of a gracious, appreciative applicant.

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