"I Just Kind of Felt Like Country Come to Town I Guess": College Student Experiences for Rural Students at One Flagship University

• In Event: Rural Student Experiences of College Readiness and College-Going

Abstract

Rural undergraduate students at flagship universities in the United States are typically outnumbered by their urban and suburban peers. Because these students are geographically different than their peers, the social and cultural capital they bring to campus is also different. This phenomenological study at a flagship university examines their experiences through the lens of Constructed Environment Perspectives. Rural students in this study noted that they began their first year of postsecondary education with a smaller social network than their non-rural peers. When necessary, rural students adapted their social and cultural capital to experience a better sense of fit by connecting with non-rural students in communal settings or by changing their dress.

Authors

• Phillip D. Grant, Clemson University

• Dena Kniess, University of West Georgia