Medical school

Thank You Notes Following Residency Interviews: A Unique Opportunity to Make a Great Second Impression

Ted O’Connell, MD

 

The topic of thank you notes following residency interviews gets a fair amount of attention, so I thought I would weigh in and offer some advice. The questions, as well as some key information that selection committees tend to talk about, fall into just a few categories.

 

When should you write thank you notes after an interview?

This one is pretty straightforward. Thank you notes should be written as soon as possible after your interview day while your thoughts are fresh in your mind and so you stay on top of the process. You will visit a lot of residency programs during interview season, and you don’t want to fall behind or start to mix up details from different programs. Getting the thank you notes out in a timely fashion will also send the message that you are professional, organized, and efficient, all qualities that you want residency programs to associate with your application.

To whom should you write thank you notes?

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Medical Student Scholarships

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The following is a list of scholarships available to medical students, with links to each. My intention is to continue to curate this list, so please contact me if you know of any scholarships that are not on this list, if any of the links are broken, or if any of the listings become outdated. Thank you!

Finding a Medical School Research Project and Mentor

Over the course of four years of medical school, medical students have many pressures on their time, have competing priorities, and may want to pursue multiple extracurricular opportunities. Most also only have one summer vacation. This time may be well spent interacting with family and friends, traveling to different parts of the world, or just decompressing and not studying. However, as the residency match process becomes more competitive and the number of applicants grows, you may want to use a portion of your summer vacation to pursue your medical interests and enhance your residency application.