I started by sending mail thank yous but realized that was kind of a waste. I sent e-mails to the last two programs I interviewed at which also allowed my interviewers to respond if they wanted to. I would recommend sending e-mails for this very reason. To my understanding they have already "graded" you by this time but I think it conveys your interest in the program and is polite.
I give the thumbs up for thank you notes. A postcard or a folded note with 1-3 sentences max. The whole point is to communicate your appreciation without expecting a response-- once that is conveyed it goes into the trash.
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Fixed that for you. ;-)
I haven't done a ton of interviews in residency but I just got my first thank you note recently. It was very much appreciated and I made a point of forwarding it on to leadership. I would just recommend sending it pretty soon after your interview, as you never know when the selection committee will meet, and it's probably better to get the thank you note in before that happens.
As a PD, I would say that it will have no real effect. If you really want to write, I would tell you to hold off until the end of the season and then email the program that you are really interested in. If you really spell out to a program why it is your number one choice, that might prompt them to look over your application to make sure that you should not be higher. I would of course only tell one program that it is #1.
Thanks for this tip.. But can you clarify please-
"To make sure you should NOT be higher"
If you spell out to your number one program that they are your top etc they will purposefully not rank you higher?
Thanks
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By the time you email the program in the late application season, the program's rank list is probably already made...
Tell a program they're your number one: Maybe you move up, maybe you stay where you are.
Don't tell a program they're your number one: You stay where you are.
So why not tell your number one that they're your number one? It's almost a Pascal's Wager type situation.
On a separate note, I've been led to understand that the way the Match proceeds through its algorithm when creating pairings there really isn't much benefit to the programs to try to guess who may or may not have ranked them higher. If they just pick who they liked best an optimal pairing will result.
After interview season when I am busy making my rank list there are a lot of people who look very similar to me. We interview a lot of people and there is no way I can easily differentiate #22 say from #25 (In contrast #10 will look a lot different than #30). If I receive an email from somebody where he/she nicely spells out why they really want to come to my program I will take a second look at their application and see if they deserve to be higher. If they do, I will bump them up. It likely will be only a couple of slots (e.g. 25 to 22). While going from 25 to 22 might not sound like a lot, realize what is important in determining whether you go to a specific program is whether you are above their bottom line or not. Thus, if I have 5 positions, the issue for you is where the #5 person ends up being on my rank list. If the #5 person is #23 and you are #25 you are not matching at my program, but if you are #22, then you will be my #5 and the person at #23 would be my #6 and would not match with me.
I suspect there are more than one way that programs go about making up their rank list. In my program we do not work on the rank list until all applicants have been seen. Starting before that seems to be a waste of time to me.
It know of no reason why telling a program that they are number 1 would hurt an applicant if it is the truth (I explained above how it could help). Also telling a program that they are high on your list should not negatively impact your score (I know that I can't be everyone's #1). Being dishonest would since it speaks to character.
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