Student attrition from colleges in the United States is a widespread phenomenon, posing real stresses to students, their families, and to universities. We examined the causes of poor academic performance in students' first semester through interviews and questionnaires and administered a small intervention course to freshmen on academic probation the following semester. This intervention had a modest positive effect on retention and academic self-efficacy but not on locus of control or grade point average. Finally, the 10% lower attrition rate among the students in our Portals to Academic Student Success courses suggests that small-scale interventions can mitigate attrition among students who later prove an ability to continue matriculating.