This qualitative study utilizes critical ethnography methods to illustrate Palestinian refugee perceptions of higher education in Jordan. Participants addressed their assimilation to the Jordanian national identity as a means of obtaining education. Content and access to education were more important than assimilation, maintenance of ethnic identity, and a homogeneous national identity. The more immediate need for academic access and social or professional capital thwarted their desire to infuse their ethnic identity in academia. (Contains 3 notes and 1 table.)