Hi! I’ve been accepted to UNC (whew, god bless) and am interested in doing a program this summer to help familiarize myself with the campus and get a jump-start on my life there. I’ve heard of the Summer Bridge program, but I was wondering what other options there are? Summer bridge seems to be about 6-weeks long and I still want to be able to do a lot during my summer so I’m looking for something with a smaller time frame. If anyone has gone to summer bridge though, please let me know if it was worth it! Any help would be great, thank you all!
You might take a look at [Carolina Kickoff](http://carolinakickoff.web.unc.edu/). My son did it this past fall and had an amazing time. It’s just a couple of days, but they’re packed full (you won’t get much sleep) of activities meant to launch you into Tar Heel life and start your off with a great group of friends. You do get to move into the dorm early if you participate in CK, but full disclosure, you won’t have time to get everything arranged in your room because you’ll only have an hour or two between the time the dorms open and the time you have to leave campus for the retreat. Don’t worry though because you’ll be back on campus before classes start and you can get your room set up then.
If you go to one of the accepted student days, you’ll probably see a table with students plugging the program in the Pit. That’s how my son found out about it.
There are many opportunities to learn about and get oriented to Carolina’s campus and culture prior to attending.
If possible, go to one of the admitted student days: https://admissions.unc.edu/events2022/
The next step is to attend an orientation two-day session. This is very comprehensive and will give you a good look at the campus and what the school has to offer: https://nsfp.unc.edu/first-year-students/new-student-family-orientation
See other links here (Week of Welcome, Tar Heel Beginnings)::https://nsfp.unc.edu/first-year-students
I wholeheartly agree with @heidekraut about Carolina Kickoff (http://carolinakickoff.web.unc.edu/). My daughter attended, learned a bunch, had lots of fun and made friends for life. Cost is about $175 and financial aid is available!
Bottom line is that you will have enough opportunities to learn about Chapel Hill without having to spend weeks there. Congtratulations and best of luck to you!