This is the one question I searched the most when I was waiting for that one mail from steemit saying my account is approved. I googled this question many times and saw different replies from users that got approved in different years. And I had decided to make a post like this once my account is approved.
So here's my story. I started with my steemit application on July 9th of 2018. After that I waited for 2 long weeks. As it was mentioned, I waited patiently crushing on my frustration of where to turn to an answer. There was no further email and I almost lost the hope of getting my account approved.
Finally, there was a mail from steemit on July 27th saying my account is approved and to continue with the final step to activate. I can not explain how happy I was that day. You know, it was not just because the account was approved but also to me the aim of blogging here was dead. So all o have to say to the beginners or if you're trying to sign up, be patient.
Also, if you're using Gmail account for signing up, then make sure you check your "promotion" section to see the second mail from steemit about the second step. It's easy to miss.
I hope the post helps to lighten up your stress of not getting any response from steemit regarding your account activation.