6. 套磁的各种回复是怎样的，如何判断套磁的回复是否有希望？

发信之后就是翘首期盼对方的回复了。石沉大海的情况我们下面讨论。我们先来说说可能遇到的各种回复。

(1)婉拒型

Mr. X: I am impressed with your motivation and excellent writing in English. You have also done interesting research projects as an undergraduate student. However, the competition for admission to our graduate program is very keen, especially for international students. Many candidates score higher in GRE and have already published as the first author in international journals. You may apply to our graduate program, but nothing can be guaranteed for admission. Thanks for your interest in us.

遇到这种情况，我觉得你就要意识到这个学校其实已经超过你的能力范围了。

(2)模棱两可型

Hi XX,
Thank you for your interest. I'm not sure if I will take students this fall or not. I cannot say what your chances for admission are since we are unsure who else will apply this year and how many positions we will have.
Thank you for your application.

这其实是最多的一种回复。这种回复基本会出现在你重点冲刺的list里面。遇到这种情况，你要权衡下是否要申请这所。

(3)貌似鼓励型

XX
Thank you very much for contacting me. I am planning on taking one or two students in Fall 2011. I encourage you to apply for our program.

注意措辞，是apply for our program而不是my lab。他可能给每一个发信的或者是基本符合要求的学生都这样回复。所以，碰到鼓励申请的并不代表你就有较大的可能性被录取。

(4)no opening型

Thank you for your interest in my research group. Unfortunately I don’t have any open positions right now.

这种其实很好。导师言简意赅，就是不招生，你也可以死了这条心。