Do they have a better chance at getting the professors they want?
No, the university specifically told us they open a few slots in each section to give all the incoming students a fair chance.
My son registered at the first NSC last year and there wan’t really any advantage. Most of the freshman courses didn’t show professors (TBA). I wouldn’t worry too much about the professors for your first semester.
I’m going to going to disagree and say yes that is a better chance of getting specific professors at earlier NSCs. Some profs may have other sections that open later thereby giving other students a chance but some do not. My son was at the first NSC last year and got the profs he wanted. His friends that attended a later NSC could not get the same teacher. They did not open any more slots in the class after it was full.
Been to 2 NSC’s before and they open a few slots per class for each NSC. So for example there may be 10 seats open in a huge lecture, or 3 seats in a smaller class, available during each NSC. The downside to the earliest NSCs is that many classes have “Staff” listed for instructor. I think it is possible that by the later NSCs there may be actual professor names shown for more classes.
There is a period during which all students can change their schedules. If you don’t like any profs, then just keep an eye on the schedule at the beginning of the semester and grab a different class when one opens up.