This article deals with the problem of inequalities in education, a theme dear to the sociology of education, and of the presence of students of popular origin in higher education. The central axis of this analysis is that of the inequalities of access and permanence of those students in higher education. The results are based on the conclusions of a research based on two main sources of information: 1) of a quantitative nature: the data on students enrolled in the university admission exam; 2) more qualitative data obtained from interviews with 27 students. This study permits us to show the contradictions between a greater demand for higher levels of education and the policies of access and permanence to the Brazilian system of higher education.
higher education; social and educational inequalities