The University of Washington’s First-Year Interest Group (FIG) is a program designed to promote social cohesion and present academic options. Our team aimed to measure the impact of the program, using a study leveraging transcript data on over 60,000 students. We found FIGs provide an increased graduation rate of 5.9% to all students and up to 13.3% and 8.7% for underrepresented groups and Hispanic students, respectively. We also surveyed students, finding that friendship facilitation serves as the most beneficial aspect of the FIG program. Our research lays a groundwork surrounding the impacts of academic first-year programs at large universities.