A controversial theory much in the news lately claims that affirmative action is often unfair to the very students it is intended to help. Called the "mismatch" theory, it suggests that underrepresented minority students are more likely to leave science, math, and engineering when, because of affirmative action, they attend colleges for which they are unprepared. The theory contrasts that outcome with the success that minority students experience at less-rigorous colleges, especially minority-serving institutions, and suggests that those students would be better served by less-competitive institutions, where they can be more successful. But the mismatch theory is terribly flawed--in fact, it could set underrepresented minorities back 40 years in science participation and achievements. The author says that based on his own experience as a minority scholar and his many years working with minority students at Rice University. At Rice, they admit underrepresented minority students in larger numbers to science and engineering programs at the nation's leading research institutions and then support them in whatever they need to be successful. To retain underrepresented-minority students, they have developed a program, supported by the National Science Foundation, that builds a strong community among them and faculty members. Following those guidelines, Rice has produced probably the country's largest number of underrepresented minority doctoral recipients in science, math, and engineering.