Response from a Professor

[newmanhattan]

Hi,

I recently emailed a professor to indicate interest in being a phd student under her and also listed my achievements, summary, etc. She replied saying that I should certainly apply to the phd program and that she will keep an eye put for my application. Also that I should remind her again in january, february 2012 about this.

Is this a positive response or is she just being polite? Should I get my hopes up with this?

Views, Comments?

[Strangefox]

It is definetely a good sign, especially the part where she encourages you to contact her again. But that does not mean acceptance yet. So, though you should definetely apply to this school, it's better to contact professors in other programs as well and apply to places where profs will express similar interest.

While it's definetely great to have a professor who is interested in working with you, that does not automatically guarantees success because a lot of factors matter in admission process - like funding and department politics. A profs might want to work with you but if he/she does not have enough clout in the department - they might not get what they want. A prof might get suddenly ill or - God forbid - hit buy a bus.

To reiterate, this IS a very good sign but it doesn't guarantee admission so contact other profs and apply to several schools with profs who've expressed interest in working with you. Then your chances of getting into one of these places will be indeed high.

[Eigen]

I'd say it's a polite response, weighted slightly on the side of a good sign.

It means you have someone potentially interested in you (assuming someone they like better doesn't contact them/apply later), and that they think your application is generally on par with what they'd look to accept.

I don't gather from the response it's strong enough that they're saying they'll go to bat for you during the applications, although they may mention that you're interested and have contacted her, which will give you at least some recognition past a file on the table.

As Strangefox mentioned, department politics, funding, and the demographics of the entering cohort that the department is trying to put together matters a lot- and while a professor being interested in you can help, unless they're really willing to go to bat for you it's more a small vote of confidence than a real tipping factor towards admission.

[ktel]

Sounds similar to the responses I received from the professors I e-mailed. All of them offered me a spot in their lab when acceptances rolled around. I also then organized to meet a lot of them after receiving this initial positive response (this may not be possible depending on location, I happened to be visiting the city my grad school is in)

[newms]

It's a good sign because it at least indicates that the prof is looking for students and that you are potentially the kind of student she would be interested in hiring. Did her response leave you room to be in further communication with her prior to applying? If so, you should maintain contact with her about your common research interests, if not, then just send the reminder email when you have applied. As others have said, it's not a guarantee that she will go to bat for you with the admissions committee, but it's good that she will be looking out for your application.

[aspiringhistorian]

I would say it's a great sign. It's important, I think, to remember that it is in her best interest to recommend/support worthy candidates. Chances are she wouldn't be as enthusiastic to hitch her name to an undeserving student, so I would take it as a vote of confidence! However, be careful not to slack on your application out of a sense of having already won. It's a vote in your favor, not a guarantee.

It's definitely great, though!