Thank you letters

[321616]

Dear All,
Hope everyone is having good luck with their acceptances/interviews. I did research this before I posted but all I could find was letters for post-interviews.

Is it necessary to send a thank-you letters to anyone who allowed us to complete a secondary application but did not offer an interview (rejection)?

Thanks for your help

(if this makes any difference, I plan on reapplying in a year)

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[Potatoman1800]

No. Who are you going to thank? If anything send them an update letter or letter of interest.

TY letters are saved for post-interview when you actually met with a human at the school.

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

No. Who are you going to thank? If anything send them an update letter or letter of interest.

TY letters are saved for post-interview when you actually met with a human at the school.

+1; You only write thank you letters to interviewers and admissions staff that helped you in any way (post-interview generally).

 

[Spin]

Dear All,
Hope everyone is having good luck with their acceptances/interviews. I did research this before I posted but all I could find was letters for post-interviews.

Is it necessary to send a thank-you letters to anyone who allowed us to complete a secondary application but did not offer an interview (rejection)?

Thanks for your help

(if this makes any difference, I plan on reapplying in a year)

No, they don't expect thank you notes just for considering you and then rejecting you. It would probably just confuse them. "Oh, let me add this thank you note to innocentmed's file... Wait, what? It says here that we rejected them pre-interview."

Good luck next time!

Edit: I suppose you could send a thank you note to an admissions person you were in contact with a lot. For example, if you sent the Dean of Student Affairs several update emails and called several times to check on your status, it wouldn't be super-crazy to write him/her an email thanking them for all of their help and mentioning your hopes for the future cycle.

 

[WuMedic]

Agreed: Update letter will do more for you.

A thank you is for people who go out of their way to help you, such as interviewers and sometimes the office staff during your interview.

 

[LizzyM]

Use your postage stamp to ask for an interview in May/June to review your application and get some tips on how to make your application stronger. If you did those recommended things during the past year, you can apply knowing that your application may be good enough in the coming cycle. If the admissions staff gives you feedback that indicates you aren't ready for prime time, then you may choose to take 2 gap years and spend the first tuning up your application.

 

[MightyMoose]

Dear All,
Hope everyone is having good luck with their acceptances/interviews. I did research this before I posted but all I could find was letters for post-interviews.

Is it necessary to send a thank-you letters to anyone who allowed us to complete a secondary application but did not offer an interview (rejection)?

Thanks for your help

(if this makes any difference, I plan on reapplying in a year)

Dear School X,

Thank you for cashing my secondary application fee, which you sent me without actually screening me out as a candidate you most likely knew you were never going to interview. It means the world to me that I can fund your institution and help to make your school a better place for all those you did actually choose to interview and accept.

Sincerely,

Me - Although, you probably don't know who I am, because a cpu most likely screened me out.



That's what I think you should send.

 

[LizzyM]

Dear School X,

Thank you for cashing my secondary application fee, which you sent me without actually screening me out as a candidate you most likely knew you were never going to interview. It means the world to me that I can fund your institution and help to make your school a better place for all those you did actually choose to interview and accept.

Sincerely,

Me - Although, you probably don't know who I am, because a cpu most likely screened me out.



That's what I think you should send.

This makes me think that unscreened supplementals are like meeting a guy in a bar and he says, "Hey Beautiful, I'd like to get to know you better, would you mind giving me your phone number. Just write it on a $20 bill and, oh, put another $20 on top so the ink doesn't smudge and would you mind padding it with a pair of $10s so it doesn't wrinkle in my pocket. Thank you darlin'." And then he never, ever calls.

Sadly, some applicants fall for that flattery because they don't recognize that the school is out of their league and the supplemental is sent without screening the AMCAS. Don't be so desperate that you let yourself be flattered and fleeced.

 

[NickNaylor]

It's not "necessary" to send thank you letters to anyone under any circumstance.

 

[Geneticist]

It's not "necessary" to send thank you letters to anyone under any circumstance.

But it's recommended.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

This makes me think that unscreened supplementals are like meeting a guy in a bar and he says, "Hey Beautiful, I'd like to get to know you better, would you mind giving me your phone number. Just write it on a $20 bill and, oh, put another $20 on top so the ink doesn't smudge and would you mind padding it with a pair of $10s so it doesn't wrinkle in my pocket. Thank you darlin'." And then he never, ever calls.

Sadly, some applicants fall for that flattery because they don't recognize that the school is out of their league and the supplemental is sent without screening the AMCAS. Don't be so desperate that you let yourself be flattered and fleeced.

on the other hand, i think it's kind of eyebrow-raising for schools to make you submit a secondary and fees when they use a computer screen using data from your primary app. i understand why they do it, but i don't find it particularly tasteful. to use your metaphor, they're being that sketchy guy.

 

[LizzyM]

on the other hand, i think it's kind of eyebrow-raising for schools to make you submit a secondary and fees when they use a computer screen using data from your primary app. i understand why they do it, but i don't find it particularly tasteful. to use your metaphor, they're being that sketchy guy.

They don't make you -- you choose to, just like some people choose to fall for sketchy guy. If you know that a school doesn't screen before secondary and you know you are borderline at that school (for sure if you are below the 10th percentile for admitted applicants per the MSAR) then consider the secondary fee nothing more than an expensive lottery ticket.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

They don't make you -- you choose to, just like some people choose to fall for sketchy guy. If you know that a school doesn't screen before secondary and you know you are borderline at that school (for sure if you are below the 10th percentile for admitted applicants per the MSAR) then consider the secondary fee nothing more than an expensive lottery ticket.

essentially no school screens before secondaries now, and it's nearly impossible to know if a school deploys computer screening after the secondary. we choose schools based on numbers and perceived "fit" taking into account our much-ballyhooed life experiences and goals, with the expectation that we will actually be considered. with some notable exceptions, the application process is incredibly opaque at most schools, why aren't they up front about the fact that no human eyes may ever see the application you paid an average of ~$90 for? the answer, of course, is that they just want you money and don't give a rat's ass about you, but at the very least they can be more honest about it. falling for the sketchy guy may be dumb but being the sketchy guy is much worse.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

It's not "necessary" to send thank you letters to anyone under any circumstance.

Your opinion on this will change when you get married. It will be quite "necessary" to write many thank you letters. In the OP's case, of course they aren't necessary/required/expected. There are social and professional situations where they are, however.

 

[LizzyM]

I agree about sketchy guy. The system at my school is somewhat opaque even to me but I have been assured that someone at a higher pay grade than my own personnally reviews every applicant that is otherwise set aside on the basis of low stats. Something extraordinary can pull that person into the review by the committee queue and it happens a few times a year. I do sleep better knowing that human eyeballs (belonging to a senior member of the faculty) do peruse those otherwise discarded applications at my school.

 

[wanderer]

essentially no school screens before secondaries now, and it's nearly impossible to know if a school deploys computer screening after the secondary. we choose schools based on numbers and perceived "fit" taking into account our much-ballyhooed life experiences and goals, with the expectation that we will actually be considered. with some notable exceptions, the application process is incredibly opaque at most schools, why aren't they up front about the fact that no human eyes may ever see the application you paid an average of ~$90 for? the answer, of course, is that they just want you money and don't give a rat's ass about you, but at the very least they can be more honest about it. falling for the sketchy guy may be dumb but being the sketchy guy is much worse.

. In any service industry doing what some schools do, would land a lot of negative publicity (at the very least), but in academia this behavior is somehow "acceptable."

 

[RogueUnicorn]

I agree about sketchy guy. The system at my school is somewhat opaque even to me but I have been assured that someone at a higher pay grade than my own personnally reviews every applicant that is otherwise set aside on the basis of low stats. Something extraordinary can pull that person into the review by the committee queue and it happens a few times a year. I do sleep better knowing that human eyeballs (belonging to a senior member of the faculty) do peruse those otherwise discarded applications at my school.

that, in my opinion, is definitely the up-and-up way to do things. i have no problem at all with writing secondaries, paying fees, and being cast aside as long as someone at least glanced at them

on an unrelated note, your frequency of posting indicates to me that we really are approaching the end of the application season

. In any service industry doing what some schools do, would land a lot of negative publicity (at the very least), but in academia this behavior is somehow "acceptable."

of course, it's not really "acceptable" either, or else it wouldn't be hidden behind the veil of admissions secrecy at these schools

 

[MightyMoose]

This makes me think that unscreened supplementals are like meeting a guy in a bar and he says, "Hey Beautiful, I'd like to get to know you better, would you mind giving me your phone number. Just write it on a $20 bill and, oh, put another $20 on top so the ink doesn't smudge and would you mind padding it with a pair of $10s so it doesn't wrinkle in my pocket. Thank you darlin'." And then he never, ever calls.

Sadly, some applicants fall for that flattery because they don't recognize that the school is out of their league and the supplemental is sent without screening the AMCAS. Don't be so desperate that you let yourself be flattered and fleeced.

This is so true. Although, I think the language in the secondaries helps to propagate the belief that the school is interested in the candidate and lends itself towards them falling for this type of flattery.

 

[NickNaylor]

But it's recommended.

By who?

I mean, I agree that writing thank you notes is courteous. But SDN users seem to think that it could make the difference between an acceptance and a rejection. And that's patently false.

 

[LEUNIT]

By who?

I mean, I agree that writing thank you notes is courteous. But SDN users seem to think that it could make the difference between an acceptance and a rejection. And that's patently false.

I didn't write any thank-you letters because I'm not a little b****. Sucking up is not in my book.

 

[cowme]

I didn't write any thank-you letters because I'm not a little b****. Sucking up is not in my book.

Sure, it's a nice thing to do, but nobody cares. Most of the time, you have already been evaluated on your interview performance immediately after the interview.

I sent 0 thank you letters when I applied and I don't think it hurt one iota.

 

[Hoya2009]

This is a good form letter for schools that reject you pre-interview:


Dear School that didn't offer me an interview,

I waited seven months for you to never respond to my secondary. It's June now, so I'm probably never going to hear back from you. Enjoy my $100 and "forget" you.

Love,
Cee Lo

 

[Geneticist]

It's a kind gesture to send a thank you note. Idc if you do it or not, but I will. It's polite.

 

[dbeast]

I only send thank you letters if I like the person who interviewed me.

 

[runawayclock]

My experience:

2 schools - sent thank you letters (because i actually liked the people there) - accepted at 1, never heard back post interview at the other

1 school - my interviewer had some strange psychological need they had to fulfill by hatin' on me for half an hour (what a waste of a trip...); didn't send thank you letter - rejected

1 school - meh school, good interviews, already had acceptance and didn't care much so didn't send thank you letters - high priority wait list


WHO KNOWS.

 

[wanderer]

I only send thank you letters if I like the person who interviewed me.

Same here.

I don't see a point in thanking someone who was rude to me or didn't seem to give a crap about my application, though I did forget to send TY letters to a couple of interviewers that I did like.