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Orientation week can feel like a blur of speeches, forms and new faces. But small jobs finished now, like a working login and one senior's number, save you hours later.
What is orientation week actually for?
The University Grants Commission's A Guide to Student Induction Programme says induction exists to help new students adjust to the new environment and build bonds with other students and teachers. It groups the work as SAGE: socialising (meeting new and senior students), associating (visiting your department and campus), governing (rules and student support) and experiencing (lectures and study skills).
The same guide notes that most institutions do little beyond an orientation lasting a couple of days, so treat SAGE as your own to-do list.
What should you collect before classes start?
By the end of the week, try to have these in one folder, on paper or on your phone:
Your class timetable, with room numbers and lab batches
The attendance rule for your course, in writing (from the handbook or an official notice, not a rumour)
The academic calendar: first day of classes, subject-change deadline, first internal tests, fee due dates, holidays
The exam and grading rules, including how internal marks count
Hostel rules, if you live in one: gate times, mess timings, guest rules
Names and emails of your class coordinator, faculty mentor and department office
Copy every key date into your phone calendar with a reminder a week before. A missed fee deadline is harder to fix than a missed lecture.
How do you set up the student portal and college email?
Do this in the first two days, while the help desk expects questions.
Log in to the student portal and any learning platform. Change the starting password.
Send a test message to your college email from your personal one.
Check your name, course and subjects on the portal. Report mistakes now.
Connect your phone and laptop to the campus Wi-Fi.
Check the college inbox daily so you do not miss notices or timetable changes.
Note where the IT help desk is.
How do you meet seniors and your faculty mentor?
The UGC induction guide suggests one senior student guide for every 10 first-year students and one faculty mentor for every group of 20. It suggests the mentor group meet for an hour every week during the semester after induction, and says students should feel free to approach their mentor or student guide about any problem, academic, financial or psychological. If your college uses a different system, ask who plays these roles.
Feeling that you belong matters for more than comfort. A 2011 study in Science by Gregory Walton and Geoffrey Cohen found that a brief social-belonging intervention improved the academic performance and health of minority college students (Walton and Cohen, 2011). That study tested a short, structured intervention, not chats with seniors, but talking to last year's first-years is still a practical way to settle in.
A short script for meeting a senior:
"Hi, I'm Ananya, first year in mechanical. Do you have two minutes?"
"What do you wish you had known in your first month?"
"Which first-semester subject surprised people most?"
"Can I message you if I get stuck on the portal?"
Meeting seniors is not the same as being ragged. The University Grants Commission lists a 24x7 toll-free anti-ragging helpline: 1800-180-5522.
Where is the library, and what should you ask there?
Find the library in week one, before an assignment forces you to. At the counter, ask:
How do I get a card, and how many books can I borrow?
What is the loan period and the fine?
What are the reading room's hours during exams?
Which e-books or journals can I open with my college login?
Also find two more quiet places to work, such as a department reading room. If you live on campus, our guide to studying well in a hostel covers making your room work too.
A five-day orientation plan
Day 1: Finish registration, get your timetable and calendar, and ask who your mentor and senior guide are.
Day 2: Set up the portal, email and Wi-Fi.
Day 3: Walk your timetable to find every room and lab, then get your library card.
Day 4: Talk to two seniors and sign up for one club.
Day 5: Put key dates in your calendar and sketch a weekly study plan. Our post on weekly time blocking for students shows one simple way.
If your first maths or physics lectures lean on a Class 12 topic you never quite got, the Fermi Concept Library has every concept in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and computing, each with its own lesson, so you can close the gap before the first internal test.
If the week feels like too much, tell your mentor or the college counsellor. Tele MANAS offers free counselling, 24x7, on 14416 or 1800-891-4416 (IIT Kanpur counselling service).
When orientation ends, read our guide to your first semester at college for what comes next.
