Recommendations arising from the "Review of Australian Higher Education" (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent & Scales, 2008) see universities aiming to increase enrolments of school leavers generally and those from low socioeconomic status backgrounds particularly. Similar trends in other countries have had mixed success. Enrolments of students from less advantaged groups have remained largely static in recent decades, both in Australia and elsewhere. Research suggests that students attracted to university study due to these "widening participation" initiatives are more likely to attend some institutions than others, and to enrol in some courses than others. Students from less advantaged groups experience higher education differently from their more advantaged peers, and face additional challenges. Using Bourdieu's theoretical concepts of "habitus," "field" and "capital," this study will examine the experiences of non-traditional students enrolled in a teacher education program. Through a longitudinal design, the student experience over the full course of the university program and initial years of the teaching career will be studied. The study aims to contribute to an understanding of the factors affecting the success of non-traditional students in teacher education specifically and university generally. This paper presents an overview of the study.