Soaked but smiling, DU’s 2026 freshers begin a new journey

The rain had been falling since morning, the kind that turns the North Campus roads into shallow rivers and makes every umbrella pointless within minutes. But by nine o’clock, the gates of Hindu College, Miranda House, Ramjas, and Kirori Mal were already receiving them: eighteen-year-olds hauling backpacks, clutching folders of documents, wearing new shoes that were now soaked, and looking simultaneously terrified and delighted about what they had just walked into.

Delhi University opened its new academic session on Tuesday, July 28. Thousands of freshers arrived for orientation programmes across campuses on the first day of classes, and the rain, which drenched the Capital through the day, did nothing to reduce the turnout or the noise.

At the Hindu College gate, Pranabh Kumar from Jharkhand stood with a half-folded umbrella in one hand and his phone in the other, trying to capture the entrance he had been imagining for two years. “It is a little intimidating, but this has been worth the wait. I have heard so much about Hindu College and the North Campus. I am really excited to explore the campus and try all the famous food spots here,” he said. He said the hostel, the canteen, the annual festival, and the chance to meet people from every corner of the country were what had drawn him here more than any specific academic programme.

At Ramjas, Swati, 18, who had travelled from Mumbai to begin her undergraduate studies, said she had already made a few friends during the orientation and had not expected the day to feel so immediately welcoming. “Everyone dreams of having a very happening college life, and what better place than Delhi University? I am so excited about this new chapter,” she said. At Miranda House, first-year student Aditi Sharma from Jaipur said she had planned a very different first day. “I thought I would spend the day taking pictures around the campus. Instead, we were all trying to stay dry. But it actually helped us start conversations. Everyone is equally new here, so it felt easy to make friends,” she said.

Outside Kirori Mal, a boy from Bihar sat on the steps with his admit card in a plastic folder, waiting for the orientation to begin. He had arrived that morning by train and come directly to the campus. “I told my parents I got into DU and my father didn’t say much. He just booked my ticket,” he said, smiling. “This is the first time I am leaving home.”

Kirori Mal College Principal Dinesh Khattar said attendance at the department-wise orientation sessions was encouraging despite the persistent rain. “The turnout from first-year students was really good. Students stayed back to familiarise themselves with the campus even as it rained,” he said. He added that regular classes for first-year students would begin on Wednesday, with a common orientation programme scheduled for August 1 evening, expected to be attended by the Lieutenant Governor.

Ramjas College Principal Ajay Kumar Arora also described the response as good, noting that the final batch would be formed once the admission process was completed.

That process was still running in parallel. Delhi University is conducting the second round of undergraduate admissions under CSAS. In this round, 24,814 candidates have received fresh seat allocations while 30,682 have secured upgrades. A total of 88,584 candidates remain active. Colleges can verify and approve applications until 11:59 pm on Tuesday, with the fee payment deadline set at 11:59 pm on Wednesday, July 29.

By afternoon, the rain had not stopped, but the nervousness had mostly dissolved into laughter, umbrellas shared between strangers, canteen queues, and the particular chaos of a first day when nobody knows where anything is, and everyone is asking everyone else for directions.

This is how it always begins at North Campus. And every year, somehow, it is exactly what they had hoped for.