All first-year students arrive on campus on Monday, Aug. 24, a week before classes start. Students will move right into their residence hall room for the whole first year. This “bridge week” takes two forms:
Join with students from many different majors for a “Black Bear Bridge” experience on campus. In this bridge week, you’ll make friends that will support you throughout your time at UMaine, begin to understand the basics of a “research mindset,” get to know how UMaine is here to support you in your first semester, and spend the evenings with your new friends in a variety of social events.
Start working with your small class cohort and the instructor of your fall RLE course right away in a bridge experience tailored to your course theme. Partially tailored RLE bridge week experiences start each day of bridge week with RLE class instructors and join with Black Bear Bridge for afternoon activities designed to engage with resources on campus for academic success and evening events such as games, concerts and movies. Fully tailored RLE bridge week experiences spend all day immersed in their program specific RLE cohort. These bridge experiences may happen on campus or somewhere else exciting across the state, and you’ll immediately start developing the skills that will be important for the rest of your course.
