High School Students
Summer Options for High School Students
The Summer School offers two options for high school students:
EXPLORE@UNC: a week-long, non-credit commuter program for rising 9th-12th grades. For more information, see the EXPLORE@UNC information below.
Dual-Enrollment: rising seniors take a UNC course for credit as a Summer School Visitor.
For more information, see the Applying to a Summer School Visitor as a Rising High School Senior” section below.
Applying to a Summer School Visitor as a Rising High School Senior
You may apply through The Summer School to be a Summer School Visitor if you are an honor roll student who has completed your Junior year of high school. International high school students cannot be considered for admission. High school seniors are not eligible to audit courses at UNC-CH.
Supplemental Application Materials
In addition to completing the online application (see “How to Apply” [link] below), the following are required for high school students:
- A current transcript
- A personal statement to the Academic Director of Summer School that includes
- the name and number of the course(s) you wish to take
- the purpose for taking the specific course(s)
- the reason for taking the course(s) at UNC-CH rather than elsewhere
- the future expectation for enhanced educational opportunities that would result
Reminder: Rising high school seniors may not take a UNC-CH class if their high school offers the same or a comparable course.
- A letter of recommendation from a teacher, principal/headmaster, or counselor confirming your preparation and ability to take the course(s)
- A statement that you will be living with parents or legal guardians while you are attending Summer School (rising high school seniors over 16 years of age are exempt from this requirement).
All required documents MUST be submitted by the application deadline
Campus/Course Safety
High school students who enroll in and attend Summer School courses will interact with many adult students as part of coursework. As part of coming to a large university, high school students and their parents/guardians should have conversations about safety. Information to promote those conversations and about reporting options can be found on the Safe @UNC website. Students should always discuss any issues with parents/guardians and/or The Summer School. All instructors with minors in their courses have been provided with training from the Protection of Minors on Campus office.
How to Apply
After clicking the application link below, all students must create an account under “First Time Users” to start a new application. You will receive an email with a temporary password/PIN to activate your account. Then you will need to create your password.
Start a new application and Select “Summer School Visitor” as the level of study.
Be sure to provide a VALID email address. Decision notifications and other important information will be sent to this email address beginning in March.
The 2025 Summer School Visitor online application opens on February 03, 2025.
Please allow at least 3-5 business days to process your application. Decision letters will be sent out beginning in March 2025.
If you claim to be a resident in North Carolina for tuition purposes, you must complete the residency process with the North Carolina Residency Determination Service (RDS) at www.ncresidency.org. The application will provide specific instructions when you get to “Do you claim to be a North Carolina Resident?
You will not be able to submit your application until you complete this process.
The RDS will provide you with a Residency Certification Number (RCN), which you will need enter in the box when you return to the application.
The residency application deadlines for 2025
Maymester/First Session: 5/21
Second Session: 6/27.
First Session
March 3: International
May 7: All other summer visitors
Second Session
March 3: International
June 11: Rising high school seniors*
June 17: All other summer visitors
*All required documents MUST be submitted by this date.
Visiting students should be aware that courses offered in summer are the same rigorous courses offered during the academic year but in a condensed format that requires diligence and commitment to assignments. Classes generally meet 90 minutes per day (or the equivalent of asynchronous activities) and can require up to 3 to 4 hours of additional out-of-class work each day. That outside time is greater for Maymester courses.
The maximum credit hour load cannot exceed more than 8 credit hours in the Maymester/First Session or more than 8 credit hours in the Second Session. Students will be required to drop to 8 credit hours if the limit is exceeded. It is highly recommended that students who enroll in Maymester do not also take a First Session course.
The University defines full-time enrollment for the summer as 4 hours for undergraduate students and 3 hours for graduate students in one of the summer terms.
All grades for Summer School Visitors become part of an academic transcript at UNC-Chapel Hill. UNC-Chapel Hill requires that even nondegree-seeking students—including Summer School Visitors—maintain an acceptable GPA to continue to enroll. More eligibility information can be found on the advising website.
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Auditing of courses is permitted only in lecture-based courses. Auditing is not permitted in:
- courses that focus on the development of written or oral communication skills
- courses that rely heavily on class participation.
- independent studies courses,
- internships,
- special topics courses
- directed readings
- online classes.
Please note: dual-enrolled high school students cannot audit courses.
For information on the auditing process, please visit the registrar’s website.
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Registering for Class
The Summer School will begin sending decision notifications and other information in March. Notifications and other information can be found on your application status page.
Once you are accepted as a Summer Visiting Student, you must create a UNC email address. Information about how to create this email address will be sent to your application status page. More information about what must be done if you are accepted can be found in the visiting student’s webinar.
Visiting students begin registration on March TBD, 2025.
Go to ConnectCarolina and click on the “Login to ConnectCarolina” icon.
Enter your ONYEN and password
Within the ConnectCarolina Student Center, you have a few different options for adding courses:
- You can search for classes and add them to your Shopping Cart, and then enroll in those classes once your Registration Appointment starts. (Please note: adding a class to your Shopping Cart does not automatically register you for the class or guarantee a seat will be available when you try to enroll in the class. When adding classes to your Shopping Cart, be sure to follow through all the steps, until you see a message that the class has been added to your Shopping Cart.) When enrolling in classes that are in your Shopping Cart, check the check box next to the classes that you wish to try to enroll in, hit the “Enroll” button, and on the following screen be sure to click “Finish Enrolling.”
- You can also enroll in classes by going to the “enroll” > “add” tab once your Registration Appointment starts.
Important Registration Notes:
- Registration is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week once your appointment time begins.
- Check the Notes section for classes ahead of time to see if the departments have placed any registration restrictions on the classes.
- The web registration system times out in 20 minutes if no activity occurs during your session, and you will have to log back in.
- If you have questions about the registration system, check the registration guide on the Office of the University Registrar’s website.
- If you still have additional registration questions, you may contact the Registrar’s Office at registrar@unc.edu
To drop a course, please initiate the drop through Connect Carolina.
To cancel all your summer session courses (only done BEFORE classes begin), please contact Summer School at summer_school@unc.edu.
To withdraw from your summer session courses (only done AFTER classes begin), follow the instructions on the Registrar’s web page.
Deadlines for these actions can be found on the registrar’s page.
Visiting summer students at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are allowed to register and will not be penalized for failure to meet the state-mandated pre-matriculation immunization requirements for full-time students.
This change of policy is supported by an interpretation of the law by a consultant with the Immunization Services Division of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health. Visiting summer students are advised that it is always prudent to be adequately protected from diseases that are preventable with available vaccines. For your information, the vaccines required for matriculating students in the State of North Carolina include DPT (Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis within the last 10 years), Polio, and MMR (Mumps, Measles Rubeola, and Rubella). In addition, the following vaccines are recommended: Hepatitis B series, Varicella (chicken pox), Meningococcal Meningitis, and a test for tuberculosis if coming from a country with high prevalence of disease. For your convenience, these vaccines are available at Campus Health Services by calling 919-966-2281 for an appointment. Costs are at or below community rates.
International Applicants
If you are a full-time student at a college located in the United States, disregard citizenship. You will select the status indicating you are an undergraduate/graduate student and a U.S. citizen regardless of your citizenship status. This selection simply ensures that you are guided to the correct application and is not a formal statement of citizenship.
Early deadlines apply for international applicants so that time is allowed to process financial and other information for the visa.
- International students who are part of the visiting student program or exchange program should make initial contact with the UNC Study Abroad Office.
- International students are required to submit results on either the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) (minimum score of 100) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) (minimum band score of 7) if English is not the student’s first language. An exception can be made by the Academic Director of Summer School. Please be aware that all UNC courses (other than foreign languages) are taught in English and require a high degree of proficiency in both written and spoken English.
- All admitted international students submitting a Financial Certificate will be required by International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) to submit this form and all related documents electronically in ConnectCarolina. Admitted non-resident alien students will see items on their “To Do List” in their Student Center in ConnectCarolina. These documents will fall under the category of “Admissions Items”.
- Once international students are admitted, they will receive an email message that: contains a link to the financial certificate form corresponding to the student’s program, directs the student to log in to the Student Center and review To Do List, and alerts the student to additional directions and resources (FAQs) on the ISSS website.
- International students pay the same tuition as out-of-state students.
- International high school students cannot be considered for admission.
Explore@UNC
Beginning in Summer 2025, UNC-Chapel Hill will offer week-long commuter sessions for rising 9th through 12th graders.
This new program, EXPLORE@UNC, will offer high school students the opportunity to be immersed in the UNC-CH campus in general and UNC-CH majors specifically.
Session Dates:
Session 1: June 23-27
Session 2: July 21-25
More details will be posted in December 2024