How to answer a professor's email? I emailed a professor about possible openings for graduate studies in a certain research group and he answered me like this:


  Your background looks great. Unfortunately, I recently recruited a graduate student. I have been working on grant proposals. If they get funded, I will have money to support more students. I will let you know, if plan changes.


How should i answer this email?

Is it polite to wish him luck? or should I send a simple thank you for reading my resume? or combining both and also saying that I "look forward to hearing from you" or something in that matter? It's really important for me to make a good impression.

(I am not a native speaker by the way)
You're probably overthinking this... The professor's response looks like a polite refusal. If I were you I wouldn't get my hopes up.

If you're really intent on answering I would just say something like "Thank you for your time, and good luck for your grant proposals." but I would get out of my head the idea that if I make a "good impression" I would have a chance of getting in the program. (If I really were you I'm not even sure I would answer, not out of spite of course, but simply because it would be an unnecessary email that would waste both my time and the professor's time... I doubt the professor would notice a lack a response. Though a "thank you" never hurt anyone.)