Professor contacted me... should I email him back?

[Preeti]

Hey guys...

 

 I emailed a professor in Jaunuary in a university for Bioligical Science Fall 2013 intake saying that I was interested in his work. He never replied for more than a month and I just left it as such and I directly applied to the department. Then again after a month or so he himself emailed me saying that

 

"The Department of Biological Sciences is currently reviewing applications for graduate school and I was surprised to see that your name is not on the applicant list. Do you still intend to apply to ...? If you would get back to me and let me know whether you are still interested in graduate school at ... it would be appreciated."   Just to tell you people, he is not the director of the department or anyone like that.

 

 

I was shocked to see this email and sent him all the acknowledgement I got from the university. Then, he sorted out all the problem and added me to the applicant list saying that

"you're now on the list. Sorry to make you worry. The application was received, but not put on the list for unknown reasons. We will be reviewing applicants shortly and you will be notified about the results as soon as the review process is complete. Good luck!"

 

I really don't know what does this mean. Should I email him again saying that I am interested in his work? Or should I wait until the decision has been made? 

 

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you really very much in advance!!! 

[Tuck]

I would reply by politely thanking him for looking into it and getting back to you, which seems like common courtesy. I think it also couldn't hurt at this point to gently reiterate your interest in his research.

[sing something]

I would just send a short email thanking him for double-checking for you and reiterating your interest in his work and your excitement for the coming decision.

[Quantum Buckyball]

It's good that the professor contacted you to double check. Perhaps your application didn't make the cut to the first-round reviewing session and is in the second or third one?

Well, I still think it's a good news that he contacted you.

[thunderchunky]

I would write back and reiterate my interest in working with him.

[ak48]

Why wouldn't you email him back?

 

Even if you aren't interested now, he still went into the special effort to check for your name among the applicant list (even if there was a mixup somewhere). Also, I always thought it was common decency to always respond to emails.