Today I had an interview at one of the colleges I’m considering, and I could possibly get full tuition out of it. Should I send the 3 men who interviewed me thank you emails for taking the time to interview me and for the consideration for the prestigious scholarship? They will be going through applications for the full tuition scholarship early this upcoming week, so it might remind them who I am after sitting through multiple interviews.
Most definitely and the sooner the better.
My advice for life in general: You never need to ask if you should send a thank you note or email. It’s always in good standing. As I like to tell my own kids, its a small world out there with very few degrees of separation. It never hurts to express thanks and make a good impression.
Best of luck in winning the scholarship!
Yes, send the email. Whether or not it makes a difference, it doesn’t matter. Courtesy on a personal and overall level stands out in people’s eyes. I sent a thank you email after an important interview of mine. I got in–I don’t know if my email factored at all but it is still courteous to show your gratitude for them taking time out of their lives to speak with you and consider you for the scholarship.
Good luck!
This is funny. Are you thinking that it could possibly be better NOT to send them thank you notes/emails?
Isn’t this like asking should you cover your mouth while sneezing? You don’t HAVE to – but shouldn’t you?
LOL
Good luck w/the scholarship!
@doschicos @TheDidactic @t26e4 would you mind proofreading my email before I send it? This is what I have. And I may have forgotten the other two guys names who interviewed me, so hopefully I handle that well enough.
Dear Mr. ______,
I wanted to thank you for the time that you and your colleagues spent interviewing me on Saturday. I truly enjoyed meeting with you all and having the opportunity to share with you some of my education and career aspirations.
Spending the day at ______ was incredible, and I left feeling excited overjoyed for the next four years of my education.
Thank you once again for taking the time to speak with me. I would also like to thank the other two gentlemen, but their contact information is harder to find on the website. Would you please forward their contact information to me, so I may thank them, or extend my appreciation and gratitude to them?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Looks fine: remove “Thank you once again for taking the time to speak with me.” in your last paragraph. You’re only repeating yourself
@NotSteveBuscemi - Here are my thoughts:
I wanted to - the first three words are unnecessary. Sounds more action oriented if you just dive in with thanks.
excited overjoyed - pick one word
Would you please forward their contact information to me, so I may thank them, or extend my appreciation and gratitude to them?
change to: Would you please forward their contact information to me, so I may extend my appreciation and gratitude to them?
I think it would also be good to:
a) state in a line or two why you want the scholarship/why attending that particular college would mean so much to you. In other words, personalize it and sell them on the fact that the school is a fit for you and you’re a fit for the school. Make them want to give you the scholarship to attract you to that choice.
b) Mention the scholarship by name and tell them you want to receive it and how much it would mean to you.
In addition to thanking them, the email should be an opportunity to restate your interest. Same concept applies to job interviews.
A letter/e-mail of appreciation ALWAYS is thoughtful, not just for a “high stakes” interview (it’s call basic politeness 
).
IMO short but sweet is the best. Omit that second paragraph-ish blurb. It’s unnecessary. They’re going to glance it over, not analyze it with scrutiny. They may not even reply; they’re just seeing that you were courteous enough to reply. Since you are two days late the point may be a little null (I sent my emails that night).
All you’re saying is thank you for your time. You don’t need that bit about forwarding the message to the colleagues. Here’s a good draft:
Dear Mr./Dr. ______,
I wanted to thank you for the time that you and your colleagues (POSSIBLY REFER TO THEM BY NAME such as Mr/s./Dr ____ and Mr/s./Dr ___ ) spent interviewing me on Saturday. I truly enjoyed meeting with you all and having the opportunity to share with you some of my education and career aspirations.
Sincerely,
I disagree with the last comment. Not too long, but not too short either. You do want to point out what you learned during the interview and what you love about the school, but again, don’t go too long.
A shorter text eliminates the possibility of multiplying the syntax and idiomatic errors.
Take out the I want to at the start. Just use excited not excited overjoyed. If there is something specific you learned or a reason you particularly like the school you could reiterate it in the note.
I would try to get the contact information for the other two people from admissions before you ask the interviewer. He may not be comfortable giving out their information.
Don’t use “thank” three times in the last paragraph.
Lots of advice, but I think the original note sounds generic. “Spending the day at [fill in the blank]” sounds like a form letter. Add a little more- did they share any thoughts or did something specific strike you? (A short reference.)
Agree about deleting asking for the other contact info. “Please also convey my appreciation to Mr X and Dr Y.”
We can spin your head, honey. Clean it up a bit, jazz it up a tad- and get that baby sent off asap. Getting it out trumps the search for perfection. Best wishes.
While I fully agree that a thank-you letter is always a good idea, if it is a poor letter it can harm the applicant. Back when I was hiring/interviewing, we actually received some poor follow-up letters that caused us to reconsider applicants, and move them from the “maybe” pile to the “no chance” pile.
@xiggi is right - it should be short and fast. Remember KISS - Keep it Simple Stoopid
Maybe (perhaps definitely) im being rather callous here, but what exactly is the point of sending a thank you note? I always thought it was a bit redundant.
Scenario:
I just met the interviewer about, say, 5 hours ago, and talked to him about a wide variety of subject matters. Perhaps I displayed to him a few closeted ideas and notions. I definitely got more “intimate” with him than I would the random stranger. Needless to say, I ended the interview with a “thanks” of some sort, and it is very much to my understanding that he understands that I am a polite enough being and learned in social etiquette to attend college/ receive a scholarship. I left, the conversation was terminated.
Why, then, would I re-initiate conversation just to say thank you, when to say thank you would perhaps imply that I, for some reason, was of the opinion that I was not able to effectively convey my zeal for the subject at hand, or perhaps, I do not think he took me “seriously” enough.
Sure, a thank you is always a nice sentiment, and Im sure people could do with more of them, but isnt the entire premise wholly redundant? I just met the dude, hi, bye, thank you…hi, thank you, bye…
Social convention. It is what it is. Just do it. It will never hurt (if done well, as the point was made above) and might help.
Why do we do a lot of the little niceties that we do? They are not necessary but just make life more pleasant.
A thank you provides the opportunity to show common courtesy, and respect.
If you don’t, and someone else does, who do you think looks better?
It is also an opportunity to show your written communication skills - which the interviewer may not have seen, especially if the prior communication / resume was completely electronic.
You can re-iterate strong points about your conversation, or perhaps mention something you didn’t have a chance to include.
It doesn’t have to be scented, flowery stationery, but a handwritten note shows more committment than a typed e-mail reply.
I have heard far too many people of my generation, and older, complain about the younger generation appearing far too entitled. You younger folks want something from us older people, yet you don’t respect us enough to bother to thank us?