Retention of minority students in higher education is important. As educators it is our duty to develop imaginative ways to support at-risk minority students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. If minority students are to succeed in higher education, special programs to prepare them for college must be developed. This thesis will focus on “The Impact of Developmental Summer Bridge Programs for African American Student Success.” Herein, I will discuss my proposed intervention which is a peer mentoring program. The purpose of this study is to examine several developmental summer bridge programs that are at different institutions and suggest a program for improvement of outcomes. Specifically, I will examine the structure of these programs and how they are designed, and the benefits and challenges each has. This study will determine how summer bridge programs can contribute towards student development, and ultimately student success for African American students.