Time?/Thankyou's

To answer your questions from my experience.

1. Secondaries--You will want these in within a month. Most have deadlines regarding this. However, if they don't state deadline, don't do them at the expense of your classes.

2. I sent thank you's to my letter writers in an unusual way. I actually sent them out by the date I requested they submit the letter. This way, it also reminded them to submit letter. I will also send out note once I know I am accepted somewhere.
Send out interview right after interview. THis will prevent you from losing/forgetting name of interviewer and will prevent you from forgetting to write. I have a VERY busy semester also, dealing with graduation, ROTC, preparation for commissioning, working to pay of Med school application cost etc, and I knew if I did not do it right away, it wouldn't get done until too late. Just my suggestion. Feel free to do what works best for you.

 

These types of things are really about personal preference and doing what you feel in right/acceptable.

I did something a little different. Instead of thank you letters, I took the people who were writing my letters to lunch, partly because I had been out of school for a while and wanted to let them know what I have been up to for the past four years. I even flew to Phx from California to see friends and take out my physiology prof who was writing a letter for me.

Then for the thank you notes, I would say ask someone at the admissions office at the school you are interviewing what the best way to send letters are. In one case, I was told it was best to send an email because they rely heavily on email. I picked a nice/professional background for my email and wrote a nice note. And try to think about other people at the school who helped. Did you call and talk to any of the admissions counselors/head of admissions? Were you impressed with how they treated you? Send their boss a thank you note and tell him/her how much you really appreciated their kindness/professionalism. HOWEVER... DO NOT SEND A THANK YOU NOTE THAT IS INSINCERE!!! It will come across as such and you will be awarded no nice points for it! Regardless of how they are sent, the rules are 1)timely and 2) sincere.

As for what to do for sending a thank you to the people who wrote your letters when you are accepted? Again, this is really a very personal thing. In my case, I sent them all an immediate email to let them know I was accepted and then followed up by sending a gift basket to say thanks. But it is really about your personal taste and pocket book. If you can't afford to do that, just send a really nice thank you on personal letter head (just buy nice paper and use Microsoft word to create a nice letter) and tell them how much you appreciate them contributing to you being about to fulfill your dream of being a physician.

Hope this gives you a couple of ideas... If you would like me to send you a copy of the email I sent, let me know.

Good Luck
-Zippy

 

Here' s what a wise MS-III told me when I was applying to medical school last year...

Go out and buy a couple of simple "thank-you" cards the day before the interviews. Right after the interview day is finished, write short and sincere thank you notes to the people that interviewed you. I was told to write them out right on the school grounds and mail them at the local post office. That way, your interviewers are sure to get them before they go to the committee to present your case. Remember...they are basically pitching for you at those meetings. Lastly, in the note refer to a portion of the conversation that was positive for the interviewer or both of you. Be specific about what you liked about one thing that he/she said....that type of thing. This will jog their memories about you.

Well, I think this was good advice. I took it and it payed off. That's just me though.

Ryan
MS-I
KCOM