Most incoming freshmen share similar first-day commencement experiences. For most, however, those are the extent of the similarities.
There are more than 150 majors at UNL. Completing these majors means navigating the thousands of different classes, adhering to degree requirements and deciphering your degree audit report — an electronic checklist for your degree.
To help students successfully register for the right classes, students are assigned an adviser based on his or her degree.
Advisers answer questions, help forecast your academic future and provide insight on internships, scholarships or on-campus opportunities. But they have to know you're there.
"Part of the college experience is the student's opportunity to engage in their own education and take ownership of choices," said Bill Watts, assistant dean for advising services for the College of Arts and Sciences.
With so many class choices, Watts said students can become overwhelmed if they try to do all their registering by themselves.
Watts suggests students see their advisers or advising centers to help alleviate the stress. To make the advising process go smoothly, he said, students should first complete five preliminary steps.
First, Watts said it is important to make an appointment with their adviser. To do so, students should send an email, call his or her office phone or visit during office hours, Watts said.
Next, Watts advised students to review their degree requirements and the undergraduate bulletin, a listing of all the classes offered at UNL. Then students should review and print their degree audit, he said, so they can figure out what they have completed and what still needs to be completed.
Fourth, students should prepare specific questions for their adviser. That way, he said, the adviser can clear up problems. If questions are not outlined, he said, then it can be a more difficult and slower advising session because the adviser will need to address a problem that he or she is not aware of.
Finally, students should come in with an open mindset and be receptive to the advice they receive, he said.
The student does not have to take the advice, Watts said, but the adviser may lay options on the table the student did not know existed.
Students are not required to see an adviser. However, Gordon Woodward, chief adviser and professor of mathematics, said students might not be aware of the kinds of degree programs they can build.
"Having a bachelor's degree doesn't guarantee 30 years of happiness," he said.
Woodward said the infinite combination of classes gives students a lot of leeway to make their own plan for the future. However, the ability to build your own degree path might not mean it is the best way to get students where they want in their desired profession.
Woodward advised all students to sit down with their adviser and talk about where they want to go and how they want to get there. He said some students might pick out all their courses and skip the advising process altogether.
Woodward said that is a great example of taking an initiative, but the student should still consult an adviser to double-check if their plan is the right one for them.
Rick Alloway, associate professor of journalism, said students should engage their advisers and choose an adviser who has worked or has knowledge of their desired career field. That way, the student can build connections to someone with relevant experience in the field and foster more of a bond between the adviser and student, he said.
Lastly, Alloway said students should open themselves up to their professors and ensure their advisers know who they are.
Otherwise, he said, the adviser might never know the student exists.
"They have to be proactive because they outnumber us," Alloway said.
RILEYJOHNSON@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
is a member of the 
