How, When to Write a Medical School Interview Thank-You Note
A medical school interview day is a great opportunity for students to make a great impression with their potential medical schools, but it's not their last chance.
If you're recently returned from an interview, it is always appropriate to extend a "thank you. " The admissions team pulled your application out of the thousands they received and made time to get to know you. The interviewers likely gave up clinical or research time to review your application, formulate questions and chat extensively with you.
It doesn't matter if you send emails or handwritten notes, but you should show gratitude to the people you met with during interview day. Being polite and courteous does not take much time and it can make a big difference toward future consideration for the next year's class. Even though it is not required, sending a thank-you note sets you apart and allows you to stand out as an applicant.
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In our school, we keep all handwritten or emailed thank-you notes in the student's folder. When it comes time to vote for acceptance or to bring people from the waitlist into the admitted class, I guarantee you that we look at all the correspondence we have received from each applicant being considered .
Before you begin writing, make sure you have contact information for those you want to write to. If you forget to gather that information before you leave your interview, reach out to the primary email address you have and request the contact information.
Remember to avoid writing the same message in every correspondence. T hey may all land in the same folder in the admissions office, and it will become apparent they are identical.
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You should try to write a few individual comments that you recall about the person you're addressing. Taking notes on the trip home from your interview, or during breaks on interview day, will help when you sit down to write each note.
If you discussed someone's clinical practice, their research or their hobbies during the interview, mentioning something about one of those topics would be nice to include, because it demonstrates you were interested in what they told you. If you talked about music or a book, that might be another point of connection you want to mention. Keep in mind that these notes do not have to be pages -- a paragraph or two is enough and appreciated.
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Medical school applicants often ask about sending resume updates to the admissions team. Occasional updates about presentations, new grades, publications or other unusual accomplishments are appreciated. On the other hand, weekly updates will be taxing for the staff and will be regarded as more of an annoyance.
If you send an update, keep it brief. Consider sending bullet points or links to a PDF of your abstracts or publications. Very long documents, however, are not going to help you. This is the busiest time of year for the admissions team, and you don't want to be perceived as entitled or irritating.
Finally, if you're sincere about attending a particular medical school, consider sending a single letter of commitment to the school in the spring as individuals are selected off the waitlist. But, most importantly, be sure to send your thank - you notes after the interview.
Kathleen Franco, M.D., is associate dean of admissions and student affairs at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. She previously served both as director of residency training and director of medical student training in psychiatry at Cleveland Clinic. She is board-certified in psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine and attended Medical College of Ohio -- Toledo.
