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Research guide

Different next steps after silence and after a polite reply

Take the follow-up interval from the programme or from what the person promised. A reply, a discussion and an admission are three different facts.

Last checked 2026-10-25

This is a method guide, not a university rule

This is a method guide, not a university rule. Department, degree and year rules come from that programme's official page. Editorial advice and university rules are labelled apart in the text.

Who this is for

Undergraduates, taught master's students and students at Hong Kong universities who are exploring research.

Last checked

2026-10-25

The point

Silence means you have not received a reply. It is not a rejection and it is not an offer. Take the follow-up interval from the programme page or from a time the person stated. If neither exists, leave it unknown. Do not invent a rule that you must chase after seven days.

A polite reply, a meeting and a formal admission are three different facts. Contact status becomes contacted only after you confirm that you sent the message. Application status is a separate field.

Use the application tracker to keep the two columns apart.

What to do

  1. Write one aim for this round. Do not change three paths at once.
  2. Open the matching official page and copy only the year, eligibility and deadline that page states.
  3. Leave unstated cells unknown. Unknown does not become open and it does not become a negative mark.
  4. Put the draft in a template or in My research. Copying is not sending.

An example

Silence means you have not received a reply. It is not a rejection and it is not an offer. Take the follow-up interval from the programme page or from a time the person stated. If neither exists, leave it unknown. Do not invent a rule that you must chase after seven days.

A polite reply, a meeting and a formal admission are three different facts. Contact status becomes contacted only after you confirm that you sent the message. Application status is a separate field.

Use the application tracker to keep the two columns apart.

Easy mistakes

  • Inferring that applications are open because the page still loads.
  • Treating contact with a supervisor as formal admission.
  • Merging different deadlines, or adding 23:59 to an unknown time.

Template

The template below this article can be filled in. Blanks stay marked unwritten.

How to use the sources

Source titles, links and the check date are listed under this page. Only sources checked for this round, and not marked search_only_403 or retired_redirect, are cited. The scope does not exceed what that source says.

Next step

Return to the research home and open the next list for the stage you saved.

Application tracker

Contact status and formal application status each have a column. A copied draft stays unsent.

Target: 【未填写】
Contact rule: 【未填写】
Contact status: 【未填写】
Formal application status: 【未填写】
Next step: 【未填写】
If contact status is empty, it is still not contacted, not sent.

Blanks stay unwritten. Copying does not mark this as sent.

Download the blank sheet

Sources