From: cctimar@athena.cas.vanderbilt.edu (Cary Timar)
Newsgroups: soc.college.grad
Subject: Frequently Asked Questions
Date: 14 Sep 92 03:18:54 GMT
Expires: 31 Oct 92 23:59:59
Organization: Vanderbilt U. Math Grad Student

This is soc.college.grad.  The charter of this groups is:

   ???  Does anybody still have the charter  ???

Its purpose is to discuss news and opinions about the professional
and personal aspects of post-graduate academia.  Issues that are
relevant to a wide academic audience are encouraged, for example,
philosophy of research or how to juggle work and a family life.

This is a low-flame newsgroup.  Let's keep it that way.  Be polite,
even to the moron who just posted the stupidest opinion imaginable.
If you have to respond, pretend you take them seriously.  Remember,
sarcasm is never understood the way you intended it, and is very
likely to lead to bad feelings.

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New with this posting:

   Reference to alt.grad-student.tenured newsgroup.

==========================================================================

Questions:

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I. Questions from Undergraduate Students

1) How do I get in touch with Department X at the University of Y?

2) What are the best schools for studying subject X?

3) The top 100 univeristies are ... so I want to know which one ...

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II. Questions from Graduate and Professional Students

1) How do we keep all these undergrads from overrunning our newsgroup
   with their stupid questions?

2) What is NAGPS?  How do I get in touch with them?

3) Can everybody tell me about their insurance policies?  Minority
   rights?  etc.

4) Everybody should write their congressmen to push for Bill 99999.

5) Where can I get a fellowship?

6) Can someone tell me about ABC techniques in DEF related to GHI?

---------------

III. Generic Questions

1) I'm trying to find John Smith at the University of Y.

2) I'm moving to Z, and I was wondering/looking for ...

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Answers:

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I. Answers to Questions from Undergraduate Students

1) How do I get in touch with Department X at the University of Y?

A: Go to the library, find the address, write them a letter.
   Addresses can be found in reference books devoted to universities
   and colleges, and in some of the larger American dictionaries.
   Other resources:  soc.college.gradinfo.
   For CS Departments, there is a list available from:
        Marc Fiuczynski  mef@remus.rutgers.edu
     or Paul Ho          th12@midway.uchicago.edu

2) What are the best schools for studying subject X?

A: The best people to ask are faculty in your own university.  You
   will, after all, need their recommendations to get in, and they
   will be happier about giving these if you feel you are making a
   sensible choice.  They will also know where their recommendations
   will carry more weight.

   After that, you could try your school's library to find out who is
   doing research that interests you.  Finally, if you have to post,
   narrow the field as much as possible ("Algebraic K-Theory" is better
   than "math") and post the request to the appropriate newsgroup for
   that field (e.g. sci.math).  Don't forget to specify anything that
   may restrict you from going just anywhere.

3) The top 100 univeristies are ... so I want to know which one ...

A: Be more specific.  Narrow the list to two or three departments, and
   ask very specific questions about them.

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II. Answers to Questions from Graduate and Professional Students

1) How do we keep all these undergrads from overrunning our newsgroup
   with their stupid questions?

A: The newsgroup alt.grad-student.tenured may be more to your taste.
   Try to obtain that.  Someday, we may be able to move that into
   the soc.college hierarchy, with a name that more explicitly
   discourages undergrads.  Alternatively, we could try to create
   a newsgroup just for these undergrad topics, with a name like
   soc.college.grad.applying.  Failing that, we just have to grin
   and bear it.

2) What is NAGPS?  How do I get in touch with them?

A: The National Association of Graduate-Professional Students is a
   U.S.  national student organization designed to serve the interests
   of the nation's graduate students and professional-degree students.
   It is a cooperative association of graduate and professional student
   organizations, representing over 100 graduate student organizations
   and over 350 000 students.

   NAGPS has a Health Insurance Policy that is available to all graduate
   and professional students.  NAGPS monitors legislation affecting higher
   education, represents graduate students in the U.S. higher education
   community (for example, attending Council of Graduate Schools meetings),
   and hosts regional and national conferences to bring graduate students
   from different schools together.

   NAGPS also maintains an Information Exchange, with files on dozens
   of topics, from Advisors to Women.  A few of these topics are:
      Budgets, Child Care, Constitutions, Financial Aid, Grant Writing,
      Health Care & Health Insurance, Housing, Labor Unions, Recycling,
      Research Forums, Social Events, TA Training, Taxes

   To get in touch with NAGPS, first check whether your university's
   graduate student organization is already a member.  If it is not,
   write to:
      National Association of Graduate-Professional Students
      825 Green Bay Road, Suite 270
      Wilmette, IL  60091

      (708) 256-8446

      71551.3365 @ compuserve.com

3) Can everybody tell me about their insurance policies?  Minority
   rights?  etc.

A: Ask the NAGPS information exchange, they collect this information.

4) Everybody should write their congressmen to push for Bill 99999.

A: Yes, that belongs here, but restrict the distribution to your
   country, state, or province, whichever is appropriate.

5) Where can I get a fellowship?

A: There are plenty of fellowships out there, and even more people
   who will find one for you, for a fee.  You could try ... ?????

6) Can someone tell me about ABC techniques in DEF related to GHI?

A: Please keep the use of abbreviations and jargon to a minimum.  We
   are not all in the same field, we are not all native English speakers.
   If your questions are very specific, consider using a the newsgroup
   specific to your subject.

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III. Answers to Generic Questions

1) I'm trying to find John Smith at the University of Y.

A: Try soc.net-people, especially their FAQ list.

2) I'm moving to Z, and I was wondering/looking for ...

A: Oh, go ahead, but please don't make the distribution any larger than
   it needs to be, and don't expect the rest of us to be happy about it.

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-- 
	-- Cary Timar, Mathematics Department, Vanderbilt University