I am a rising Sophomore at Emory University and I want to share some advice to incoming freshman…join SOAR!! I did Emory’s SOAR pre-orientation program before my freshman year and it was the best decision I ever made. It really helped me adjust to college life, gave me a group of friends before school even started, and altogether was a lot of fun. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about what SOAR is like and I’ll do my best to answer them 
Is there a pre-orientation available for transfers before the transfer orientation?
I know that this year Emory is trying to run a SOAR trip for transfer students, they just need to get enough interest to fill a trip. I can put you in contact with the person in charge of outreach for the transfer student SOAR trip if you would like?
I’d second the original OP’s note. My son, a rising senior, did a SOAR program prior to the formal start of orientation and it was a great experience for him, in every way (and he’s not a particularly outdoorsy sorta kid).
What was SOAR like? What activities did you guys participate in and how is the campus, weather, etc.
It’s August. In Georgia. The weather is brutal. So hot, the trees are looking for dogs.
My son went on a several day camping trip to a lake, relatively nearby. Best part of the experience was that on move-in day he already knew about a dozen other kids. I don’t think that he’s close to any of them at this point (three years later), but it helped break the ice, and he was more relaxed when orientation started than he’d have been otherwise.
FWIW, whenever a SOAR thread starts here, every response from a student or parent who did a SOAR trip is positive.