Thank you notes or no for Molbio

<p>There are a lot of websites giving interview advice online, but most of them are for jobs. I am applying to molecular biology programs (so you do <em>not</em> get accepted to a particular lab/professor since you usually have an entire year to rotate and figure out which lab you want to do your thesis in). Do molbio people still send thank you emails to the professors after interviewing? Any current grad students have input?</p>

<p>I suppose you could send a thank-you, particularly if you were very interested in the work the person described and you were very seriously considering rotating in his/her lab.</p>

<p>It's not something most people do, and it's not likely to affect your chances of admission, as your email would likely be sent after the interview report was submitted. I personally wouldn't do it unless I had a very exciting interview with the professor -- form thank-you notes are the worst, and can be seen through immediately.</p>

<p>...which is why most people will attest that a hand-written thank you note is far better than an email.</p>

<p>Thanks mollieb. I wasn't really convinced that it'd be useful for me to write them since I'm not at all sure about any labs I'd want to join. It's good to know it's not considered necessary.</p>

<p>Well, you may be a little surer after talking to professors during interviews. :) </p>

<p>I had some really great interviews, after which sending a follow-up note probably would have been appropriate, although the idea didn't even cross my mind. I had many other interviews which were interesting, but not amazing, and I think anything I could have written afterward would have sounded really token.</p>