Bhubaneswar, July 21: Nervous, excited, anxious, restless — a range of emotions is dominating freshers as they gear up for college life. Classes for both junior and degree college begins from Monday.

There are many students who are eager to make a good first impression and in this enthusiasm, they often end up committing the worst of faux pas.

But seniors and pass-outs suggest that the initial few days can be a cakewalk if the newcomers follow some basic survival tips.

“College is the place where you will make friends for life, but that does not mean that you start trusting everyone from the word go. Be cordial to your classmates but don’t share your secrets immediately just to get close to them,” said Vishakha Mohanty, a pass-out of BJB College.

She said freshers must hold their ground and try not to succumb to peer pressure if it involved being part of risky activities such as drug use or binge drinking.

Another golden rule is attending classes regularly and submitting assignments on time, say students.

“As college offers a lot of freedom, many students consider bunking classes a tradition that they must follow. Many colleges do not allow students to sit for exams if they do not have 75 per cent attendance or have not adhered to deadlines,” said Subhalaxmi Tripathy, a pass-out of Ramadevi Women’s College.

Some others said freshers need not be scared of approaching seniors on the very first day for help with important work such as getting library cards or locating places on the campus.

“They can be very resourceful in such situations. Getting lost on the campus or entering a wrong classroom is normal but you can always count on seniors to come to your rescue. You may even ask them for notes,” said Pritam, an English graduate.

It was equally important to be respectful towards teachers and college staff.

“You need not resort to flattery to be in their good books, but never behave rudely with them to be hailed as a hero in your friend circle. The grades of your internal tests and assignments are in their hands,” said Abhishek Sahoo, a student of Maharishi College of Natural Law.

Seniors also suggested that freshers must report any incident of ragging to college authorities.

“But they must not mistake harmless jokes and leg pulling as ragging,” said one of them.

According to the rules, students found guilty of harassing freshers will be either suspended for a few days or expelled from the institute, and in some cases penalised up to Rs 2.5 lakh besides being imprisoned for three years depending on nature and gravity of the offence.