NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION
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Vo. 83 No. 182
Craig AndresenD&ily Nebraskan
As freshmen, you're only beginning your roll do wn the lane towards the tenpins, graduations. Between those points, there's a lot of ground to cover.
Between those points, most students learn how to balance their studies with their leisure time, or their business before pleasure.
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By Mciling Liu
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an 3,000 new UNL students
have something in common?
Yes, more or less, according to
the director of the UNL Counseling
Center.
From his 20 years of experience,
Vernon Williams said he can draw six
problem areas that most UNL freshmen
go through.
Homesickness is the first problem
many students face, Williams said.
Homesickness is especially acute the
first week of classes, when freshmen
don't know the campus or many people,
he said.
Because many freshmen come from
smaD towns, Lincoln is the biggest city
many freshmen have ever seen, Williams
said.
"Some of them may feel lost and
don't know where to go," he said.
Roommates pose the second problem,
Williams said. Although most people
have had conflicts at home, freshmen
may have conflicts with roommates
that create new feelings of resentment
and alienation, he said.
The third area, academic problems,
can happen to both students who had
good grades in high school and those
who did poorly, Williams said. Freshmen
who still do poorly in college may
become depressed, he said. Those who
did well in high school may find it
difficult to live with a worse college
performance . and also become de
pressed. Although most students don't have
academic problems, a significant
number do, Williams said.
A fourth concern for freshmen is
when they associate their new social
life in college with their experience
back home, Williams said. While most
students usually appreciate what social
skills their parents taught them, some
still feel ill-prepared for college social
life, he said.
comes from breaking up with hometown
boyfriends or girlfriends, Williams said.
"Perhaps these difficulties may not
be as depressive as others" he said,
"but they are still disturbing and pain
ful for freshmen."
To solve their problems, freshmen
usually will talk to friends or
counselors, Williams said. But
it can take time for people to get over
their problems.
. . . Although most people have had conflicts
at home, freshmen may have conflicts with
roommates that create new feelings of resen t
ment and alienation . . .
In that sense, "old feelings about
parents may come back in a negative
way," Williams said. Usually students
like this think they have a hindered
social life.
Decisions about college majors and
future careers are the fifth most com
mon freshmen problems, Williams said.
Some students, who did not decide on
a major in high school, keep searching
during their first year. Sometimes fresh
men who chose a college major in high
school become unhappy with that choice
after they get to college, Williams said.
The sixth most common problem
Some freshmen dont solve their prob
lems during their first year and come
back to college with the same problems,
Williams said.
Yet, the rate of students who have
problems decreases 10 to 20 percent
as students complete each year, he
said.
TpV ouglas Neitzel, assistant director
of Admissions and Advising,
-i- said most freshmen come from
families and high schools that have
more structure than the university.
When they come to UNL, he said, they
have to adjust to a new environment of
varied activities, opportunities and
freedom.
Yet, students may ignore available
resurces at UNL, Neitzael said. Thus,
they create social and psychological
problems for themselves.
Students should act as higher educa
tion consumersand be assertive enough
to get the best they can from UNL,
Neitzel said.
Looking back on their freshman years,
older students have advice for freshmen:
Carolyn Rudasill, a 1984 graduate
from McCool Junction, said freshmen
should try new things and meet new
people. They should not fear changing
majors, though she said she did not,
staying instead with her original major,
elementary ed ucation, until graduation.
Quyen Conroy, a sophomore busi
ness major from Omaha, said fresh
men should remember financial aid
deadlines. He said freshmen should
seek help and "keep knocking" at the
door of the financial aid office.
Lue Jones, an undeclared home eco
nomics sophomore from Seward, said
she still remembers the hassle of buy
ing textbooks. Jones also said it took
her a semester to get used to the
campus.
Incoming freshmen should prepare
themselves for college with good study
habits and efficient time management,
Jones said.
