Rather than admitting a person to college on non-academic basis, a better alternative is to provide access to a college transition program such as the Elena Buchanan Transition Program at Rutgers. "The program is intended to help adults and nontraditional students prepare for the rigors of study" at college (Rutgers, 2005).

When a student is admitted to college without the tools to succeed or is academically behind his peers, this puts him at a disadvantage. He is more likely to drop out than be able to work his way up from the bottom of his class. Instead a transition program will help the student gain the skillset to be competitive.

I took the Rutgers program as a nontraditional adult student. I had earned a GED 7 years prior to the transition program and was uncertain about my ability to succeed in college. The program prepared me quite well for college and I would highly recommend it. I'm currently a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing and am enrolled in an MSN program.

Rutgers (2005) Elena Buchanan Transition Program. Retrieved from

http://catalogs.rutgers.edu/generated/nb-ug_0507/pg20990.html

What got me thinking about this topicwas an article I heard on NPR news. Here is the link:

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.htmlaction=1&t=1&islist=false&id=136173961&m=136173962

I am very interested to hear otherthoughts on the subject. Does affirmative action work? Are therebetter alternatives? What are my fellow nurse's thoughts?