First-generation students currently represent the vast majority of the student population in South American higher education institutions (Castillo & Cabezas, 2010; Cuenca, 2015); however, these students also have significantly lower persistence, especially during their first year of studies (Fanelli, 2017). The most relevant theories on retention point out the importance of a student's integration in fostering persistence (Tinto, 1993). Nevertheless, the literature has not studied the specific effect of some particular practices on integration and persistence, such as learning clusters (cohorts of 25 or more students taking all their classes together). This study evaluates the influence of learning clusters on first-term students' persistence at a Peruvian university focused on first-generation students. It also analyzes the impact of learning clusters on grades. A quasi-experimental design evaluates the magnitude of these influences. The study uses propensity-score weighting techniques to reduce bias in comparing treatment and four different control groups with varying numbers of shared classmates. Then, regressions models make it possible to measure the effect diverse ranges of shared classmates have on students' persistence and GPA. The research results establish a strong significant association of an additional 12.8 percentage points in second-term persistence for students in learning clusters compared with those who did not have shared classmates. It also demonstrates significant GPA improvements as the number of shared classmates increases, with the most substantial effect in the learning cluster group. These findings seem to be related to the contribution of learning clusters to first-generation, 1st-year students' integration. Their implications may provide insights about the benefits of a specific relative low-cost and scalable intervention (learning clusters) that may benefit first-generation students to increase graduation rates. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]