While teachers play an important role in education and supporting learning, many learners in under-resourced settings are not privileged to have access to teachers. Some of these underprivileged learners deal with the issue by engaging in self-determined and self-directed learning. Their efforts sometimes pay off with access to formal higher education and financial resources they would not access otherwise. This paper reports and discusses data from interviews with two secondary education graduates who hunted and learned on their own notes from the field of "Math-Physique" (Mathematics and Physics), took national exams as non-formal learners and won government sponsorship and student loans that are highly competitive in Rwanda. The informants subsequently completed their undergraduate education in Physics and Applied Mathematics, respectively. One of them was completing his master's degree course in Applied Mathematics at the time of the interview. The data revealed decision-making, dedication and perseverance as key attributes of these learners. The informants adopted different strategies vis-à-vis challenges they encountered when they were learning on their own, and none of them surrendered. This study may benefit underprivileged learners as well as educators and institutions that are interested in opening up higher education in under-resourced settings.