Published in The Australian, 7 December 2016

“The experience of university gives you so many opportunities. But I guess like everything there is a price,” says Simon Mawson.

For Mr Mawson, who clawed his way into university by a combination of sheer grit and an enabling program, that price was costly on the personal front.

Two years ago, aged 24, he wanted out of his job as a chef, which he had been doing for 10 years, having started an apprenticeship in school.

“I was at the point in my career where I wasn’t going to get a bigger pay packet or get a better job. I always had an interest in technology, so I thought: why not pursue my passion?”

Mr Mawson enrolled in the University of Adelaide’s enabling program, which provides academic and other support for university life, and from there transitioned into full-time study.

He found personal relationships changed as he made the leap into higher education: he lost some friends but made some new ones; he broke up with his then girlfriend and later met his present partner at university.

Like Mr Mawson, many low-socioeconomic status students face significant change and disruptions as they adjust to university study, new research confirms.

Chad Habel, a senior lecturer in the school of education at Adelaide University, said universities were keen to promote the aspirational potential of higher education to change lives, but the challenges facing low-SES students often were downplayed.

He was part of a research team that explored the lived experiences of 20 low-SES students as they progressed through enabling programs at Adelaide and the University of South Australia.

“There’s a lot of talk about the transformative power of higher education, particularly for non-traditional students. We tend to focus on social mobility and the economic positives, but we don’t often acknowledge it can be really hard for students as they make this transition,” Dr Habel said.

During in-depth interviews the students reported positive experiences overall in progressing through the enabling programs and into university study. Many referred to developing greater confidence, gaining social support from mentors and fellow students and slowly acquiring a sense of belonging at the institution.

However, many students also reported considerable personal disruption and difficulties during their transition. “Many felt their friends and family were often suspicious, resentful or disapproving of the transformations they were undergoing, especially in relation to class,” the research found.

Families sometimes struggled with the new social mobility afforded by university study, and “in the most extreme cases this led to a complete breakdown of personal relationships, which (was) often irreversible”.

For many low-SES students, combining paid work and study is necessary — and many respondents also discussed the difficulties they faced in this respect.

The researchers conclude that enabling programs can have “profound and life-changing effects” for those who feel they have no other options for access to higher education.

But universities must also acknowledge that student journeys can involve “significant change, trauma, disruption and social stigmatisation”, and institutional supports are essential, they say.

“There is a lot of research to say that students from diverse backgrounds do equally well and sometimes better than your homogenous group, they just need some support,” Dr Habel said.

For Mr Mawson, who is now one year into his bachelor of science, there are no regrets.

“I’ve been given an opportunity I never thought I’d have,” he said. “I feel there is a brighter future ahead of me.”