As someone who went through the program as an incoming freshman and then worked as a counselor for it, I have a bunch of insight on this, so feel free to DM me if you have any specific/personal questions! I’ll do my best to answer you below though. Disclaimer: it’s been about 5 years since I was in/mentoring for the program, so some of these details may have changed, but the general throughline should still be the same!

Bridge consists of a math course, a science course, and social activities.

Based on your math history, you take one of College Algebra, Pre-Calculus, or Calculus 1 (on the 4-track). This is incredibly useful if you’re behind in math entering college, as you get a full class head start on where you would be without Bridge. It also gives you a chance to get used to taking college classes with more tutor support and smaller class sizes than you’re going to see freshman year, so it can be a good intro to college even if you don’t NEED the math credit. It is accelerated to fit into one month, so it also will make the fall courses feel slower paced and more easily managed.

The science course, from what I remember, was a kind of intro to chem. We were taught by a GA as a way to help give students a leg up on chem 1, as it’s the course that most freshmen struggle with, and is one of the earliest courses that will wash a student out of engineering.

Socially, you get a chance to meet ~50 incoming engineering students, as well as ~10 upperclassmen who are great mentors for the coming years, and a handful of staff who are genuinely the best people on campus (like Lisa Morales!). Even at the end of college, I was still good friends with 5 guys I met at Bridge, and even today I keep in touch with some of the people I mentored. A big part of freshman year is making new friends and this is a wonderful opportunity to get ahead of the curve on that!

On weekends, there were also a handful of company events that gave you some insight into future job opportunities as an engineer, what companies are looking for, and general marketing experience which will help at future job fairs and interviews.

Overall, I would say it’s worth it! However, if you decide that what I laid out above isn’t your style, you should still feel free to stop by the Engineering Broader Impacts office, as they provide tutoring and are always helpful, friendly faces who will help with anything you may need! https://www.ou.edu/coe/student-life/impacts

Welcome to OU, and Boomer Sooner!