Thursday, August 2, 4:00-4:30, SUB Ballroom D, Theme: Students

Rural students in the United States experience higher education differently than students from non-rural areas. This presentation explores how socioeconomic status can have an overriding effect that boosts the rural student experience in institutions of higher education. The data from this presentation comes from a broader case-study analysis of 18 rural students at the University of Georgia, an R1 university in the Southeastern United States. The study aimed to understand the rural student experience in college through the lived experiences of students.

The presentation will explore how socioeconomic status benefitted students in the form of academic, cultural, and economic capital. The researcher does not argue that socioeconomic status is more important than rural status, but rather that traditional rural students experience higher education differently, according to their parents' means.