This chapter examines the evolution of higher education equity research, tracing a shift from access and attainment to sociological perspectives that foreground the lived experiences of disadvantaged students. Moving beyond Tinto’s integration model, scholars increasingly employ Bourdieusian, intersectional, and critical frameworks to highlight how rural, working-class, minority, and first-generation students negotiate cultural exclusion, symbolic domination, and positional anxiety in elite universities. The recent “emotional turn” reconceptualises psychological states not as individual deficits but as manifestations of structural inequality and power relations. This reframing foregrounds emotions as both markers of vulnerability and resources for resistance. Emerging approaches also stress plural university cultures, institutional responsibilities, and students’ reflexivity in reconfiguring belonging. By synthesising these contributions, the chapter demonstrates how the emotional lens deepens understandings of social mobility and stratification in higher education, offering new theoretical insights and implications for inclusive educational practices.