Becoming a student in a prestigious and tough study program that demand almost total commitment, hard work and long work hours from the students is experienced in different ways by different students. Previous studies show that family background, study background, faculty support and motivation influence the students achievements as well as attrition rate ( House, 1999; Gallander Wintre & Yaffe, 2000; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Wiers-Jenssen, 2002). In Sweden a majority of students in engineering programmes enter into Higher Education at the age of 21 and due to social- and economic policy it is possible for them to have student loans to finance their studies. As a consequence most students leave home, often for the first time, when they enter a study program. During 4-5 important years when a student is becoming a student and becoming an engineer, he/she is also becoming an adult. In this paper I wish to present a longitudinal study we are undertaking in a study program of Thechnical Physics and Electroengineering, about the expectations and experiences of four cohorts of students . Results from the survey studies have been presented at previous ECER conferences ( Edvardsson Siwne, E. & Stiwne, D., 2000; Edvardsson Stiwne, E,; Rosander, M, & Stiwne, D., 2001; Edvardsson Stiwne, E,; Rosander, M,; Stiwne, D. & Karlsson, A., 2002). In each cohort interviews have been made with ten students, five male and five female. The same students are interviewed twice the first year and once a year thereafter. In 2003 the first cohort is graduating. Biographical methods are relevant if the purpose of a study is to highlight and interpret the experiences and insights that individuals and groups are experiencing in their every day life, to focus individual perceptions of events, situations and feelings, and thus how they create and give meaning to their lives (Roberts, 2002). In using life history method I wish to present a couple of "Study histories" where the study life of the "Successful students" ( those who have graduated on stipulated time) are shaped and interpreted within the context of the study program 1998-2003. In 1998 185 students entered the program, in 2003 about 45% are graduating. Although all of them could be labelled "successful" they suffer from study related stress, self-doubt and regret that they for five years have neglected social and personal needs. In this paper I wish to discuss the opportunities and limitations of using life history method in a context where "facts" and "evidence" is the kind of knowledge that counts.