Chinese rural students are less privileged than their urban counterparts in accessing Chinese elite universities. Existing studies widely follow a Bourdieusian explanation for this discrepancy in access, focusing on rural parents' capital deficit in their children's education. However, research also shows that Chinese rural parents hold higher educational expectations for their children's education. This study presents the complexity of Chinese rural parents' roles in their children's access to Chinese elite universities, drawing on narratives from a group of rural students and their parents. The findings show that although rural parents' capital deficit constrains their roles in concrete actions, their verbal expression of higher educational expectations acts as a form of motivation contributing to their children's academic success. This article contributes to cross-cultural explanations of parenting through analysing less privileged parents' roles in their children's access to elite universities.