ABSTRACT
This chapter understands how social class shows up for undergraduate students through the stories of three current undergraduate students: Daniel Espiritu from Chapman University in California, Kevyanna Rawls from the University of Memphis in Tennessee, and Tea N. Wimer from Princeton University in New Jersey. To discuss the role of social class in higher education, the role of social class in PK–12 education must be understood. The elite-class school demands students develop the critical thinking and reasoning skills necessary to lead a society, whereas the working-class institution is satisfied with the working-class student knowing better than to take what doesn’t belong to him or her. Accessibility to institutions of higher learning is one of the most important challenges that universities must face. The students share the financial pressures they have experienced throughout their lives and into their college experiences and how money can inhibit access and opportunity, particularly with the rising costs of tuition, fees, and other associated expenses.
