The transition from a rural environment to a large urban university environment can challenging. Poor secondary school quality and social challenges are just a few of the obstacles rural students face when contemplating university. Urban schools often benefit from better resources, more specialised staff, and access to a wider range of extracurricular and academic opportunities than their rural counterparts. As well, expectations of communities may also influence the decision to pursue university. Much of the existing research is quantitative, using numbers and statistics to tell a story, but this neglects the most crucial element: the lived experiences of rural students themselves. We wanted to capture the voices of rural students and learn from their experiences through structured interviews and thematic analysis. Collaboration with a chemistry BSc project student, a rural student himself, not only shaped the direction of the research, but also enhanced its authenticity.We want to ensure these rural students are heard and that the lessons learned from this research project are broadcast to raise awareness that this rural student cohort faces different challenges prior to university, requiring targetedinitiatives, not only to improve access to HE, but also to support a successful transition into HE.

A student-staff partnership with:

Josh Hylands, Student(Final Year Chemistry BSc Project, 2024-2025)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-hylands-26961122a/

Dr Smita Odedra, Co-Supervisor (Senior Lecturer in Physical Chemistry, Learning Teaching & Scholarship)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drodedra/

BlueSky: @drodedra

Dr Linnea Soler, Co-Supervisor (Senior Lecturer in Organic Chemistry, Learning Teaching & Scholarship)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlinneasoler/

BlueSky: @DrLinneaSoler