should I send a follow-up email

[hahaha1234]

Hi all,

2 weeks ago a professor contacted me and asked whether I'm interested in her lab. I replied yes and also expressed my interest in talking to her. However, it has been around 2 weeks and I have not heard from her. In this case, I wonder if I should send her a follow-up message and to remind her again that I am interested in her lab just in case my previous reply got lost in the shuffle or should I take it as a "NO?"

 

Thanks!

[artsy16]

I don't think there are any compelling reasons not to follow up. 

[Oshawott]

There's two possibilities, and you should take into consideration the consequences of each.

1) The professor is interested, but the email either got lost or they got busy and forgot.

Not emailing means you lose out on an opportunity. Emailing means you get it.

2) The professor is not interested, and decided to simply ignore you rather than give you a response.

Regardless of your actions, the net outcome is still the same, you do not get the position.

[Mystic_Fog]

7 hours ago, hahaha1234 said:

Hi all,

2 weeks ago a professor contacted me and asked whether I'm interested in her lab. I replied yes and also expressed my interest in talking to her. However, it has been around 2 weeks and I have not heard from her. In this case, I wonder if I should send her a follow-up message and to remind her again that I am interested in her lab just in case my previous reply got lost in the shuffle or should I take it as a "NO?"

 

Thanks!

2 weeks ago was right before Christmas and New Years and many schools are still on vacation - many don't check their email during the holidays, except maybe to spare a cursory glance. That's a consideration too. 

[hahaha1234]

Thank you all! I wrote to the professor again (because the worst case is rejection) and surprisingly she wrote me back and said she somehow missed my email and looked forward to meeting me on their visiting weekend! So I guess resending an email to express you interests again may not be a bad idea if you are prepared for rejection.

[St0chastic]

13 hours ago, hahaha1234 said:

Thank you all! I wrote to the professor again (because the worst case is rejection) and surprisingly she wrote me back and said she somehow missed my email and looked forward to meeting me on their visiting weekend! So I guess resending an email to express you interests again may not be a bad idea if you are prepared for rejection.

Congrats, that's great news!