Unprepared students need not apply

Each year more and more students are applying to colleges and more of them go to graduate schools. The fact is there are few positions open and more people applying than a single college can handle. This has lead to overcrowding in many state universities, like the University of Arizona.

There are quite a few students in this university who were in math classes that an average ninth grader should be taking. That is not a big issue, but the point is that this state needs to deal with the overcrowding.

There is an option open to all three state universities. All state universities should be strict on admissions standards. That means all students who have not reached the math, science and English equivalency that an average American high school graduate takes, then they cannot get into the university.

These students must then go to the community colleges like Pima or Mesa Community College in Phoenix. The interesting thing about Arizona community colleges is that they have the capability of turning into four-year accredited institutions. All community colleges in the Phoenix area, Pima College here in Tucson, and Yavapai in Prescott can easily be turned into four-year colleges.

This may take a decade now, but this would certainly help all three state universities with overcrowding problems. This idea is hated by the Arizona Board of Regents. They don't seem to realize that the universities will benefit from having strict admissions standards and smaller classes. We all know that 300-plus classes are terrible and are an insult to the very word education. The first step in education is to have a teacher-student relationship. That will only be achieved when there is less overcrowding, and professors are concerned less with weeding out students, and giving all students a chance to succeed.

Ahmad Saad Nasim
German studies and molecular and cellular biology junior