This article investigates the strategies and difficulties faced by university students from popular sectors of the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA). At the methodological level, observations and twenty in-depth interviews were carried out at four public universities of the AMBA. Among the results, it is observed that reasons for desertion are interrelated: the lack of a proper space to study, the greater distance of travel, intermittent educational trajectories and the lack of nearby referents that facilitate the transmission of academic capital. Finally, the factors that contribute to the institutional affiliation process are described, among which stand out the greater institutional involvement and use of available resources –libraries and tutorials–, the interaction with the peer group of the institution, the center of students and extended entrance courses.

Education; University; Young; Social class; School dropout.