In recent years, there has been an increasingly pervasive discourse regarding the need for high levels of post-secondary education for life course success in a knowledge economy. Correspondingly, most Western industrialized nations have seen a drastic increase in university enrolment. Although we do know that access to university continues to be constrained by social class, we know little about factors contributing to dropping out of university. Using qualitative data obtained through semi-structured interviews, in this paper I investigate whether first-generation student status and social class affect individuals' university experiences and decisions to drop out. Key findings suggest that first-generation students are more likely to leave university early--often despite solid academic performance. Reasons for leaving university without graduating are centred around class-cultural discontinuities, such as not fitting in, not "feeling university," and not being able to relate to other students. These discontinuities are interpreted as a clash between an old and a newly developing habitus. (Contains 1 table and 3 notes.)