Getting rejection letters is never easy. Having received a number of them last month (not unexpected, given the number of applicants this year and the number of applications I sent out), I've come to appreciate the well-thought out, encouraging rejection letters. Those that go beyond the usual:

Thank you for applying to our Internal Medicine Residency Program.  We have reviewed your application and associated documents.

We regret to inform you that you have not been selected to interview.

...without even an addressee. This is the norm, by the way. Below are the two "nicest" rejections I've received.

Dear Applicant:

With regret, I am informing you that we are unable to offer you an interview for our internal medicine residency program.   Unfortunately, due to time limitations, we cannot interview every qualified applicant. Fortunately, there are many outstanding internal medicine training programs across the country and I would like to wish you well in the match process. Thank you for your interest.

Aw, they imply that I may still have a chance at one of "many outstanding internal medicine training programs across the country." Keepin' the dream alive.

Dear Applicant,

Thank you very much for applying to our Internal Medicine Residency Program. As you are probably aware, we receive thousands of applications for only 12 residency positions.  We realize there are many outstanding candidates such as yourself that we are unable to interview.  We have now completed our review of applications and interview invitation process.

We do appreciate you applying to our program and wish you the best in your career.

D'aww, they called me outstanding. A small boost of confidence.


What's the nicest rejection letter you've read?