TLDR; Girl that is one year older than me gives me compliments. I've never shown interest. Am I her brother or can I bone her?

Some background information. I'm in my second year at college. There is this girl, maybe 7 or 8, that I've known since first year, wouldn't say it was a close relationship, just some friendly greetings on the rare occasions that we run into each other. In first year, I could tell that she was interested in me, however I was in a long distance relationship at the time (this was before red pill, I cringe at the thought of this now) so I never reciprocated. Soon after, she got herself a boyfriend and me being stuck with my bitch of a LDR, our interactions grew even more infrequent.

Fast forward to now, been on trp for almost a year, at the moment I'm mainly focusing on my studies, grinding out the end of the year, since I'm applying to transfer to another university next year, as well as lifting hard and eating well, trying to get ready for the summer beach season. These are the goals that I want to achieve right now and I've been spending most of my energy and will on them. The result is I have chosen to put aside spinning plates so you could say I'm on semi-monk mode.

Since I'm in the library so often, I've been running into the aforementioned girl more frequently lately. I find out that she's broken up with her bf for several months now. So far, our interactions have been strictly friendly, mostly short greetings and conversations. I've always found her pretty attractive and considering that I've managed decent grades, I thought I should give myself a reward and try to plate her. However, during our encounters, she will sometimes compliment me on my clothes and she acknowledges that I'm cute and good looking. I know she isn't being sarcastic because I've been told by multiple sources before that I'm pretty above average in terms of looks (not trying to brag just stating the facts). Now, having read trp, I know that this is potentially a good thing or a bad thing. This girl is one year older than me, so it could indicate that she sees me almost as a little brother and feels comfortable enough to give me these compliments. Or it could also mean that she's trying to shit test me, which could indicate a level of interest from her.

My question is should I interpret these signs as a go ahead to pursue something more than strict friendship with her or as a dead end where hope is already lost? If it is the former case, how can I escalate things from being just friends to friends with benefits with this girl. In all our previous interactions, although she gives me these compliments, I've never shown any signs of interests in her, since, like I said before, I've been focused on other things. It might be awkward or weird if I suddenly make my intentions clear. Some additional info, although I would say I'm above average in looks and quite tall and have an alright physique, I wouldn't say my SMV is particularly high because since I was planning to transfer out of this university, I never made an effort to develop a close circle of friends. Trying to impress her in a social setting would probably be running into a weakness for me.