The summer "bridge" part of the Special Transitional Enrichment Program (STEP) at the University of California (UC), Davis, was evaluated with attention to first-year academic performance and retention. STEP, part of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), is an orientation and academic program to help low-income and minority students make the transition to the university curriculum. A comparison was made of specially-admitted freshmen who attended summer STEP (group A) with those who began STEP in the fall (group B). Findings include: among the fall 1978 EOP special action freshmen who completed their first year at UC Davis, group A had lower high school grade point averages (GPA) and lower Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) math scores on the average than group B; group A students did as well academically as the academically better-prepared Group B students; total SAT scores carry negligible weight in predicting first-year college GPA and retention for these EOP specially-admitted freshmen; summer STEP participation does not significantly affect first-year college GPA after correcting for the influences of students' academic background/workload; and participation in summer STEP significantly affects retention as measured by quarters enrolled. (Author/SW)