While a growing body of research supports active, student-centered approaches to teaching, the implementation of such methodologies in the undergraduate STEM classroom has not been widespread. In an effort to increase student success in an introductory course for biology majors, we developed Biology Boot Camp, a peer-led program based on active, collaborative learning. Program participants attended weekly study sessions led by Boot Camp Coaches who had been trained extensively in both course content and pedagogy. During Boot Camp sessions, Coaches engaged students in activities designed to encourage the development of higher-order cognitive skills represented by the upper levels of Bloom's taxonomy (analysis, evaluation, and synthesis). A primary goal of the program was to transform students into active, engaged learners who understand the difference between superficial and deep, meaningful learning. Biology Boot Camp strove to cultivate motivated learners, to promote biology content mastery, and to develop problem-solving skills necessary for future leaders and visionaries in rapidly evolving STEM fields. In this study, we examined the impact of Boot Camp on student success, and we determined that participation in Biology Boot Camp improved academic performance as demonstrated by exam grades, pre-test/post-test gains, and final course averages.