Introduction

This book originated from a PhD longitudinal investigation into how students experience the transition from one further education (FE) college in the West Midlands of England to a variety of post-92 and Russell Group universities. It is concerned with how students make sense of going to university and the experiences they have in their first year as undergraduates. It is about the difficulties new undergraduates encounter both socially and academically and focuses on the lived experiences of 12 individuals, from a traditional working-class background, who sought to build better lives for themselves by accessing university. Only nine however gave their permissions for this book, and therefore, the other three for whom consent could not be gained are not included.