Feedback from the NSO Experience

Academic advising is one small segment of the incoming freshmen's New Student Orientation experience, basically boiling down to a brief meeting with their academic dean, and time with an advisor to choose their schedule for the fall. 

In Undergraduate Advising, we get feedback from incoming students about their NSO experiences.  Here's what we're hearing, from the class of 2015:

In response to the Dean's Talk:

• "He was very welcoming and excited about our arrival. The most important thing he said was that as students we need to be proactive. I am used to having people around me encouraging me to do new and different activities. Now that I am a college student, I need to start motivating myself."

Regarding the BEST thing about their advising appointment:

• "My advisor and peer mentor were both really helpful and helped me to decide what classes to take to help me explore different subjects that I might be interested in." 
• "getting an awesome schedule" 
• "That I felt comfortable talking about what classes I wanted to take, and what do I want to do."

And regarding what DIDN'T work about their advising appointment:

• "I still feel a bit overwhelmed by the intricacies of the course selection process."  (note: this is why you should keep consulting an academic advisor about these decisions!) 
• "some of the time slots i chose were not my first choice"
• "i wasn't really prepared when i walked in. it took me some extra time" 

In response to what EXCITES them most about coming to UMass in the fall? 

• "The people here and the support that is clearly given to each student. I understand that in order to make relationships with the staff and faculty around me I need to be proactive. If I can do that, I can tell these relationships will benefit me." 
• "The entirely different atmosphere excites me. Now I will be able to take courses that interest me, as well as meet new people and experience brand new events." 
• "Everything!"

Thanks for the feedback, new students - we're looking forward to working with you all.