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This is a mail I received from my potential supervisor who is willing to supervise my PhD study. I want to thank him for the email.

Dear XXX,

I would like to know how it goes with your scholarship. Is the schedule already known/clarified?

I would be happy if you would keep in touch with me on the further progress of your fellowship.

Is that OK to say Thank you for showing concern or Thank you for your time?

Please suggest something because I want to write him back with thanks.

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    Why do you want to thank him? I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but it seems like he has a personal stake in knowing the outcome of your fellowship application (he wants to know if he has to pay for you or not). So it would make sense for him to be curious about this, and it doesn't mean he's concerned for your general welfare. Nov 20, 2014 at 7:42
  • Why not thanking him? It is polite, you are nice to another human being, and it is free.
    – Davidmh
    Nov 20, 2014 at 7:50
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    I want to thank him for the email. Just write "Thank you for your email."
    – silvado
    Nov 20, 2014 at 10:42
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    This is getting dangerously close to treating this website as a "help me write an email" consulting service. :)
    – mako
    Dec 20, 2014 at 23:08
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    This question appears to be off-topic because it is about how to write thank you notes.
    – earthling
    Dec 21, 2014 at 2:59

1 Answer 1

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Dear Joshua (or Dear Prof. Smith or whatever you use to call him),

I have submitted all the necessary documents to Agency ABC and I am awaiting the file to be processed. I will let you know whenever I get any more information. They told me that it's expected by the end of November.

Since I was assured that the application will be eventually accepted, I would like to ask you if we could meet to discuss the topic of the PhD in more detail, so that I can start to study the related literature.

Thanks.

Best regards,
Charlie

This is just an example of a reply I would make. The level of politeness you choose should reflect your previous communication and your relationship.

As well, you're not going to say that the application is accepted if it is not. So in general, just inform him about the status and show your interest in the cooperation. You don't need to make it long, he's basically asking for a status of the thing and he's most probably expecting a short and on-the-spot reply.

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  • Can I ask the downvoter what did I do wrong, so that my next answers are better? Thanks.
    – yo'
    Dec 25, 2014 at 23:48

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