How to respond when she says she's glad we matched but has been swamped with her thesis

When someone says they're swamped with a thesis, they are giving you a reason that is true, specific, and time-bound. A thesis has deadlines, supervisor emails, and a head that is full of one subject. Most people in that state still check their phone, but they reply in bursts, and new conversations are the first thing to slide. Her saying she's glad you matched is her telling you the door is open, while the rest of her life is temporarily jammed. Read the message as a schedule, not a status update on how she feels about you.

The useful question is whether her message gives you anything to hold onto. Look for a rough end date, a mention of what comes after, or a hint about when she'll have room. If she gives you a window, your reply can gently respect it. If she gives you nothing, assume the delay is indefinite and keep your next message light enough that it costs her nothing to skip.

Your reply should be short and aimed at what she actually told you. Acknowledge the thesis in one line, say something warm about the match, and stop. The move is to make her next reply cost almost nothing. A question she has to think about will sit unanswered. A light remark she can answer with a single word, or ignore entirely without feeling bad, keeps the thread alive. Two kinds of message do this well. One is a small, specific note about what she's working on that shows you were paying attention, without asking her to explain it. The other is a warm line that tells her the conversation can wait without any pressure attached. A draft is working when it could be answered in a minute and would still make sense if she took a week.

Leave out anything that asks for a plan, anything that reassures her you're still interested, and anything about her thesis topic that you know nothing about. Those all turn a simple note into homework.

Give her a real window before you send anything else. For a thesis, a week of silence after your first reply is normal and not a sign of anything. If she answers in that week, match her pace and keep things easy. If she does not, wait roughly a week and a half before one short check-in. That check-in should be a single light line that doesn't reference the earlier silence or the thesis again, something that makes it simple for her to reply in a sentence. Send it in the daytime when people are most likely to be looking at their phones, not late at night when it reads as an impulse. If there is still nothing after that, stop. Two messages into a thread she has not answered is enough. Leave the match open and do not send a third message to fill the gap.