<p>I'm writing a thank you letter for my interviewer. The problem is I don't know if she is a "Mrs." or a "Dr.!" I know PhDs sometimes get offended if people don't address them as "Dr." so what should I do?</p>
<p>If the interviewer was a profressor, address her as "Professor Smith". Mostly it is only really pretentious PhD's who like to be called "Dr", most don't. Your worst option is Mrs. - most married women in academia use Ms.</p>
<p>I agree with spikemom. Also, think back to the name used when you were introduced.</p>
<p>Say Ms. instead of Mrs. I've noticed some women don't like the title "Mrs."
edit: sorry didn't know spikemom said the same thing.</p>
<p>" Mostly it is only really pretentious PhD's who like to be called "Dr", most don't.</p>
<p>When it comes to students, the above holds. When it comes to people outside of universities, the title "Dr.," not "professor" is usually what's used. Usually "Dr." is the honorific people use when sending mail to professors.</p>
<p>Most Harvard graduates who are females and lack doctorates use the title "Ms." except perhaps for the ones who are over age 60. Harvard graduates tend to be very independent and not the type of women who feel that the highlight of their life was being able to use the title "Mrs."</p>
<p>Whatever you do, however, don't obsess about the titles. Just bothering to write a thank-you puts you far ahead of the game as most interviewed students don't seem to have learned those kind of good manners.</p>
<p>I think my interviewer is over 60...also when I walked into her house her husband, also over 60, introduced himself with the same last name as that of my interviewer. In that case I guess I'll just use Mrs. </p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses!</p>
<p>oh, and i forgot to ask, around how long should the letter be?</p>
<p>About 3-4 sentences long is fine.
First sentence thank you for the interview.
Second sentence: Something specific about what you appreciated about the interview such as something that you learned about Harvard that you didn't know before.</p>
<p>Third sentence: Could be something that you neglected to say during your interview, but realize was important. Could be a sentence emphasizing your interest in Harvard.</p>
<p>Fourth sentence: Perhaps warm wishes for the holiday season (being careful not to make assumptions about the interviewer's faith).</p>
<p>ooh i hate this prob. lol some Jack*** at my old school told me that some important person i knew was a doctor. of course he wasnt and i was embaressed beyond belief. i think the best way to avoid this would to simply put a ps and say you arent sure about it. that way you avoid any seinfeld-esqe situations.</p>
<p>My interviewer didn't particularly care for formalities and actually preferred that I address her by her first name. So I suppose it depends on the person.</p>
<p>Remember that the interview is mainly an attempt to put a human face on a system that processes 20,000+ applications. Unless something truly remarkable happened, it has very little effect on admissions.</p>