The purpose of this case-study was to understand the relationship between success in college and L2 academic writing of three Generation 1.5 Russian-speaking middle-class college students and to describe the factors that could have contributed to the levels of academic literacy that these students developed. The following research questions were posed: What English academic writing skills do three successful G1.5 college students have and could these students' success in college be attributed to their (strong) academic writing skills? If it could, how did these students develop their academic writing skills in English? If it could not, how did these students succeed in college without strong academic writing skills in English? The study found that despite some serious problems uncovered in these college students' writing, they were able to earn a high academic reputation by enacting behaviors indicative of success in academia. These behaviors included assertiveness, self-confidence and ambition. It is argued in this paper that the successful academic socialization skills that these students were inculcated with as part of their cultural capital, made it possible for them to enjoy the level of success in higher education that may be considered incongruent with the quality of their written academic work.