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This paper outlines an evaluation of a Student Mentor Program developed for student nurses at Curtin University of Technology, in Perth, Australia. Universities all over the world face issues with new-to-course student retention and this paper outlines an approach that may serve as a model to address this issue. There is extensive documentation of the stressful nature of nursing practice and of nursing education (Healy and McKay 2000; McVicar (2003) (cited in Kanjit, et al, 2006); Crout, Chang and Cioffi, 2005), with all authors arguing for a frank consideration of self-care and better student support structures within nursing curricula. The approach taken at Curtin saw twelve senior students selected as “Student Mentors” (SM‟s) for groups of (14 – 16) semester 1, nursing students. Their role was to support new students, help orientate them, facilitate a „sense of belonging‟, reduce feelings of isolation and anxiety, offer a positive role model and assist with students‟ academic success. The evaluation involved a questionnaire, addressed to new-to-course students and an evaluation of attrition / retention data. Student feedback proved very positive with evaluation forms received from 46.4% of new-to-school students. Results confirmed that students valued the SM‟s, as they helped establish a sense of community and links with student colleagues. They offered a structured environment for students to ask questions and helped reduce stress by providing realistic, student focused support. They were seen as supportive, positive, easily contactable, offering suitable, effective interventions and advice, with 91% of students indicating that the program was beneficial to them. Attrition / retention data suggested that 91.4% of the student cohort remained at the end of the semester, compared with percentages in the low 80‟s for all other pervious first semesters.