Thank you notes

What is the protocol on writing thank you notes to pre-med advisors, admissions folks, etc.? I come from the legal world, where it is customary to send handwritten* thank you notes to interviewers, recruiters, career services people, etc.


I met last week with the pre-med advisor at the school where I will be completing my science prereqs. I shot her a thank you email, but it occurred to me afterward that a handwritten note might have been more appropriate. I also communicated several times last week with the director of admissions for TMDSAS (centralized app service for Texas med schools) about a procedural issue. Is a written/electronic thank you called for? Finally, I have a meeting in January with the admissions director of my preferred school. Thank you note?


Any help on the general protocol in this area would be appreciated.


*handwritten was standard when I was interviewing, but that was over 10 years ago and before we did everything electronically, so that may have changed

bump

heartoftexas,


I’m not sure what the protocol is. I might tell you what I did when I was applying. I didn’t talk to any admission people before applying, but it’s not going to hurt you if you send a note!


After my interviews I sent a thank you note to every interviewer + to the dean of admissions of a given school. I’m pretty sure they were hand-written…


hope it helps,


Kasia

I write electronic “Thank yous” for all interviews I have (including patent law jobs).


So far I have gotten every job I have ever interviewed for (knock on wood!), and noone has ever complained?. I asked the recruiter I’m dealing with about it, and she said emails were perfectly appropriate…(If people feel otherwise please let me know!!)


However, I will probably handwrite my Thank You’s for med school-- Adcoms see so many people-- I want my card sitting on their desk so they have to think about me!



I recommend a hand-written thank you note, in snail mail, to your interviewers.


Cheers,


Judy

Thanks, y’all! Like I said, handwritten was standard when I was doing law firm interviews, but that was many years ago and I didn’t know if technology had changed things.


I will drop notes in the mail to the folks at TMDSAS who were so helpful as well as to the adm director at TAMU after our meeting in January.


Thanks!

Hiya,


I’m new to the community, but I did have a question regarding thank you notes… did anyone receive a reply or a ‘thanks, I got your letter/note’ from whomever you sent thank yous to? I know someone who is concerned that their letter may not have arrived to the interviewer or if it did, the lack of ‘thank you’ is making her worry about the decision regarding her interview… any advice?


Tx!!

I have never had anyone respond to a ‘thank-you’ note that I sent. These people are extremely busy and I would be surprised if they took time to reply.


I mean think about it. If they send you a note saying thanks for your thank-you note, are you going to turn around and send them a thanks for letting me know you got it note.


My advice is to assume they received the note and move forward. There are plenty of other things to be thinking about.

Ummmmm… yeah, what Linda said. I am not aware of any convention that expects a reply to a thank-you note. And if your thank-you note includes a question like, “So how did I do?” it is unrealistic to expect an answer.


As a student interviewer, I would interview a handful of people every week, would participate in admissions committee meetings every other week, and would continue to go to my second-year medical school classes. I would give my interviewees my undivided attention, write them a thoughtful evaluation, and then move on. I appreciated the nice notes but it would not have ever occurred to me to acknowledge the notes.


Tell your friend to relax! It is far too easy to drive yourself nuts during this process.


Mary

I was on the admissions committee for my medical school and never replied to the thank you notes.

Ditto me on the last two replies. Send the notes (hand written, snail mail) and move on. I don’t know anyone who responds to a thank you note.


The thank you note is a social nicety, it isn’t a “please admit me” note. It won’t make any difference in what the AdComm decides.


Cheers,


Judy

Free EXAM when I am done: ,!,


OK OK bad… I know, I just could not help myself