When Terrence Johnson's (TYP) mother heard about the Transitional Year Program at Brandeis through a program alumnus, Johnson thought the program sounded interesting.At the time, Johnson, a high school student in Atlanta, felt he was academically unprepared to start his college career. Only after speaking with program coordinator Erika Smith, who assured him he could be a successful student, did he even consider applying.

Johnson, now the TYP senator, a member of the Campus Operation Working Group and the social justice committees and mentor at the Boys Club in Waltham, says TYP has been the most influential aspect of his education so far.

"TYP challenges my ability to learn better and manage my time more efficiently," he says. "It really strengthens my weaknesses."

On Oct. 25, Brandeis celebrated the program's 40th anniversary with a series of events that included TYP alumni speakers and a panel of current TYP students. As senator, Johnson introduced the student panel with a discussion of his own path to TYP.

Established in 1968 by members of the Brandeis faculty, TYP offers students the opportunity to gain experience in a rigorous college environment before actually applying to college.

The program is highly selective. According to Smith, of the 200-odd students who apply to TYP each year, about 10 percent are accepted.

Only students who demonstrate leadership skills and the potential to make a "meaningful contribution" to Brandeis' academic life are eligible, Smith said.

Students chosen for the program spend a year taking several TYP-specific courses and one ordinary undergraduate course each semester. If accepted to Brandeis at the end of that year, the students are then enrolled as first-years.

Smith noted TYP's significant progress. Although TYP is smaller now than in 1968, graduation rates for TYP students have continued to increase.

Although Brandeis accepted 38 TYP students in 2000 and only 18 in 2008, rates of acceptance have increased. While only 42 percent of TYP participants were accepted into Brandeis' first-year class in 2000, in 2008, the University accepted as much as 83 percent of the TYP.

The "development of the program has come largely through students advocating for it," Smith said, which she called "very Brandesian."

Johnson also discussed the challenges of participating in the program. With so much on his plate, it was unsurprising that he cited "time management" as one of the greatest difficulties he had with TYP.

Johnson described TYP as an incredible educational experience. Noting especially program leaders such as Smith and Senior Department Coordinator Dana McPhee, Johnson cited community support as the reason behind his achievement at Brandeis.

Johnson sees his personal history as representative of the possibility for achievement that TYP embodies.

"Networking, strong support and willful determination," said Johnson said during the panel presentation "can make a scholar."

The students on the panel repeatedly expressed their gratitude to the program.

J.V. Souffrant, a current TYP student, said that enrolling in TYP completely changed the course of his academic career. If he hadn't gotten into TYP, Souffrant said, he would never have attended a four-year college.

Despite how little experience he's had at Brandeis so far, Souffrant has ambitious plans for the future. He announced during the panel that he plans to major in biology and wants to attend Harvard Medical School.

"TYP made me more focused and driven," Souffrant said. "It is an opportunity that you cannot let slip through your fingers."

Riko Bol, a TYP student and a double major in American Studies and Sociology, echoed Souffrant's praise for TYP's uniqueness.

"TYP challenged us," he said. "I took on the responsibility to get my work done."

Although he thought certain aspects of transitioning to college life were "difficult," Bol said he was able to move forward because "I had people to help me out."

Even TYP students who have already been accepted to Brandeis appreciate the program's influence on their lives.

Jose Quinones '11, who graduated from TYP in 2007, said that the program "opened me up to what the college experience would be like."

Even before he was accepted to Brandeis, Quinones said he already felt integrated into the student body.

"I had a chance to meet people outside of the program, and professors," he said.

Quinones analogized his TYP experience to trying out for a basketball team. "You know what it is like, but you have not actually made the team yet," he said.

He told current TYP students to "never forget what you are capable of."

TYP students recognize that TYP has imbued them with the confidence and the motivation to pursue their goals.

TYP, Johnson said, "has given me the fundamental steps to being successful.