Nationwide, almost a third of 1st-year college students do not return to begin their sophomore year, and the 5-year graduation rate for undergraduates is only around 40%. It is important for universities to implement interventions, such as freshman transition courses, to help new students adjust to college life and succeed, and it is critical that such programs are evaluated to see if they are reaching their goals. The present study examined short-term self-efficacy and self-regulated learning, and long-term academic performance, retention, and graduation rates over 7 years for 1st-year students enrolled in George Mason University's "University 100"orientation courses (N = 284) and demographically similar students who did not take the course (N = 299). Results indicate strong effects of University 100 course participation on academic retention and graduation-90% of University 100 students returned to school for their sophomore year whereas this was true for only 78% of comparison students. Five years later, 75% of the students involved in the orientation course were still in school or graduated compared to 60% of students not enrolled in the course. The graduation rate after 7 years for those in the