When to contact POIs?

[bioarch_fan]

Yeah...if you just emailed him back recently, like during the weekend, he might not respond right away.  Most of my professors say that they won't respond during holiday weekends, and I don't expect them to because I know they will want to spend time with family.  So after 2 business days of not hearing back then I would try again just to make sure your email was actually sent.  But a word of advice, don't be too upset with a professor if they miss an appointment.  It doesn't show well on your personality to that professor because it shows that you have a short fuse when it comes to things.  That's just what I would see if I was in their position.  Though as a student, I completely understand why you'd jump to the worst case scenario because I've done that on occasions as well.  Just keep the conversation friendly no matter what because even if you don't get to attend that school then keeping contact with the professor is always a good idea since you'll be colleagues in a few short years and might need to contact him again for assistance with something or to just talk to.

[graduate33]

Thanks for your reply bioarch_fan.

I don't think that the fact that I was a bit angry was perceptible to him because my emails stayed polite and friendly after he missed the appointment. It's all about keeping the focus on the big picture, I really like his research and who knows what could happen in the future, in  terms of collaboration I mean.

[screencheck]

I got my first response yesterday and I think it was encouraging. The POI said that my CV was excellent, that he welcomed my application and should keep him updated on the status of my application.  Obviously he wasn't going to tell me not to apply, but I think the rest of the response was encouraging.