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The rhetoric about access and equity in Australian universities frequently goes only as far as addressing the enhanced passage of disadvantaged groups into university through entry and selection processes. Frequently missing from this discourse is an appreciation of the importance of supporting the student's entree to university, including the provision of adequate educational support especially during the first year of study. However, increasing student support does not mean a reduction of standards, and herein lies a tension. This paper examines features of this tension within a view of the success rates of students in their first year of study in the Bachelor of Social Work at the University of South Australia for the years 1996 and 1997. It is concluded that first year students deserve strong educational support from a number of sources if disadvantage is to be truly addressed.