Despite the ubiquitous presence of mass media hailing the value of higher education, these societal messages fail to acknowledge the complexity of contextual factors that influence the outcomes of college educated young adults. Through in-depth personal descriptions from students, the researchers Armstrong and Hamilton for Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality examine the structure of academic and social life on a college campus, exploring the impact of the organization of college on student experiences during college and class trajectories at exit. While previous literature may describe a student’s inequality in college as simply a statistic, the qualitative nature of this work allows the emergence of a meaningful narrative, making visible the embedded class disparities permeating our college culture.