group interview--thank yous?

[ALC0520]

I had a group interview yesterday. It started out as me and 12 other applicants and the director of the program gave us some information about the program (Counseling Psychology) overall. Then we were split into 2 groups, so it was me and 6 other people. For the actual portion of the interview the 7 of us were supposed to discuss a few different topics. The 2 professors doing the "interviewing" were simply watching us and keeping track of time. I understand that the purpose was to see how we interacted with other people we had just met and to see what we would take away from the process. What type of thank you letter should I send? Would an e-mail to the 2 professors who observed and the the head of the department thanking them for their time be appropriate, or should I send hand-written letters? Should I send a letter to the other professor who was present at the beginning (during the information session) but not present for my group's portion of the interview (she was with the other group)? I want to make sure I do this quickly. They are having interviews today too, but then they will be starting to make their decisions around the end of this week. Any help would be appreciated.

[jaxzwolf]

I think it's always a good idea to sent thank-you notes after interviews, whether they were conducted one-on-one or in groups. E-mail thank-yous should be fine. I would thank the program director for sitting down with you and providing you with the information about the program, and the two professors that observed your group I would thank for overseeing your interview session. All of these individuals are taking time out of their schedules to assess candidates. Just be gracious, tell them you enjoyed meeting them and learning more about the department, and thank them for their time. Thank-you notes will both reaffirm your strong interest in the program and show that you really do care that they took the time to interview you.

Edited March 1, 2011 by jaxzwolf

[ALC0520]

Thanks, just sent e-mails a few minutes ago.

[FutureDrT]

I know this is a year old but I have a similiar interview next week. I wanted to know how were you able to prepare for this type of interview? What kind of questions were you all asking each other when you all were split into groups? Thanks