Respond to personalized rejection letters?

[feelthebern16]

Yes or no? From one of the committee members that interviewed me. 

[TakeruK]

I think it's up to you. I am the type of person that will send an email even if it just says "Thank you" so if I got a personalized rejection email, I would write a very short message back thanking them for the interview/opportunity. But there are many people that don't like writing emails that basically just acknowledge receipt. So it would be fine to not respond too. 

[fuzzylogician]

I always reply to any personalized message. Someone took the time to write you something nice, and you should at least say thank you. Keep in mind that this won't be the last time you interact with this person, assuming they are a researcher in your field, so keeping a positive line of communication open would be helpful. 

[feelthebern16]

Thank you! 

[feelthebern16]

@TakeruK @fuzzylogician

ok, another question--on my original app I had asked for it to be sent to another department for review in the event that I was rejected from the original dept. Well, I was rejected. The rejection email did not indicate anything about the app being forwarded. Do they automatically do that? Or do they select at their will? Ahhh so many questions. thank you! 

[fuzzylogician]

33 minutes ago, feelthebern16 said:

@TakeruK @fuzzylogician

ok, another question--on my original app I had asked for it to be sent to another department for review in the event that I was rejected from the original dept. Well, I was rejected. The rejection email did not indicate anything about the app being forwarded. Do they automatically do that? Or do they select at their will? Ahhh so many questions. thank you! 

There is really no way for us to know the answer to that question. You would have to follow up with the department and ask if they forwarded it to the other department. 

[Sigaba]

In your brief reply, I recommend that you indicate briefly that you are taking any guidance or feedback or encouragement offered to heart. ("Thank you for your email...I especially appreciate your ...")

Down the line, when the guidance/encouragement yields improved performance (and in most cases, it will), you can send another short email of thanks.

[ThousandsHardships]

Assuming you intend to go into academia, you are going to end up interacting with these people in the future. These will be your future colleagues, ones that you will see at conferences, cite in your papers (and hopefully vice versa), and to whom you may recommend your own future students. It won't hurt to have a good relationship with them from the start. In any case, if they gave you an interview opportunity, it's always good to thank them for it. 

[feelthebern16]

Thanks all, I sent a polite thank you email. Seems logical now that I'm done stressing over it.