The troubling secret in higher education is that approximately 50% of doctoral students drop out before graduating. It doesn't have to be. Sarah Church became fascinated by the Mock Orals program at St. John's University in New York, which produced a startlingly higher completion rate. From 1991 to 2006, 87.5% of matriculated students graduated. Dr. Church's fascination grew into a study, reported, here, of the components of the program and the reasons for its positive effects on student completion rates. Academic, social, and professional integration for the students at all stages of the degree process is the key to the program's success. Students benefit not only from the rehearsal of their oral defense presentations, but also from the regular gathering of all levels of students, graduates, faculty, and professionals for the rehearsals. Dr. Church offers this to all institutions concerned about increasing their rates of doctoral graduation.