Thank you for the interview??

[Guest Xine15]

I was just browsing on SDN and found a topic about thank you letters. The person asked if it was necessary/appropriate to send a letter to the admissions comittee thanking them for the interview. Has anyone done this???

 

It seems silly to me - presumably you earned the interview based on merit and not because the admission comittee was feeling exceptionnally nice that day.

 

Any thoughts?

[Guest drews97]

I would say that you probably shouldn't send a thank you letter. Chances are they won't remember you and, if anything, you'll look like a bit of a keener. Since they generally assess you during/right after, your interview anyway, a thank you letter won't help you get in one bit. I totally agree with you that you earn an interview based on merit. They aren't doing you a favor by giving you an interview. Just be nice and thank them at the end of the interview, that is enough.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

For my interviews at UBC a few years back I sent individual thank you letters to each interviewer. I didn't feel it was inappropriate and appreciated the time they took to interview me. This thank you letter behaviour was not a simple product of a keen wish to enter medical school; rather, something that I practice fairly often in myriad circumstances. For me, it's an act of politesse and appreciation, but everyone has their own level of comfort with such practices. These letters are by no means a requirement nor expectation.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest peachy]

It's also largely an American vs Canadian thing, imho. I think it's expected in the US, but rarely done in Canada. At least at the Ontario schools I interviewed at, I wasn't given contact information for my interviewers, and it would have been difficult to send them thank-yous. I remember wanting to send thank-yous to my Queen's interviewers (because they were SO nice) but it didn't seem (to me) to be appropriate in the end.

[Guest Tanya24]

I do not know anyone personally who sent a thank-you note to their interviewers. When I exited the interview room, I think I said "thank you for your time," or "thank you for meeting with me today" or something to that effect. I would say that is definitely enough.

[Guest mying]

Thank you notes aren't done nearly as much as they ought to be these days.

 

Having said that, I couldn't tell you who my interviewers were 5 minutes after walking from the room. I barely caught their names. I wouldn't have known how to get a thank you note to them, at least without annoying various people in attempts to track them down. I did verbally thank them sincerely for their time.

 

It's a nice gesture, especially since interviewers do volunteer their time and energy to conduct the interviews, but it's not expected.

[Guest Namgalsip]

I agree with Mying. It might be difficult to find your interviewers. Personally, I haven't heard of anyone sending a thank you letter. I did however, bump into the 3rd year student that interviewed me at UofT and thanked her personally (this was during O-week, so well after the interview).

 

Nams

[Guest Bighead]

For American interviews, you're told ahead of time who your interviewer is, when, where, room, etc. You're expected to keep in touch with them afterwards, with thank yous, questions, and the like. In Canada, its very different... its more like a surprise and you never see these people again. The only thanks my interviewers got here was at the end of the interview, thanking them for the time. You dont need to go any further than that...