This paper focuses on student experiences and support available to first-generation students in one elite university in the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic. Emerging research has highlighted that student challenges during the pandemic can be broadly grouped into those of an educational, emotional and environmental nature (Aguilera-Hermida, 2020). It is the environmental challenges that deserve particular attention for first-generation and other disadvantaged student populations. Various research has shown that study space is a serious issue for students from first generation and lower socio-economic backgrounds, and the more people live in the same household, the more likely students struggle with academic studies (Aristovnik et al., 2020; Soria et al., 2020). These issues with study environment can also result in heightened levels of stress and decline in mental health (Patias et al., 2021; Son et al. 2020). To explore the student experiences of Covid-19 and the support available to them, we proposed an original approach to student support as comprising social networks that are dynamic, reciprocal and involving a variety of formal/informal actors. These relationships vary according to the frequency, direction and nature of exchange. All of which, dictate the size of a network, the density of connections and the centrality of actors with certain students more connected than the others (Kanagavel, 2019; Raaper et al., 2021; Raaper and Brown, 2020). This qualitative study included 10 interviews with non-traditional students from a high tariff university in England. Most participants identified as first-generation students, allowing us to gain important insight into the lived experiences of the group. Our findings suggest that support networks for first-generation students tend to exclude formal support services, and centre primarily around family (wellbeing support) and fellow students (academic/wellbeing support). This support ranged from small gestures to forms of support that had significant effects on students’ mental health. Students highlighted how they were able to talk to their parents about difficult experiences, although there was a tendency to exclude academic details. While the findings problematise the lack of institutional support in student networks which is likely to further disadvantage these students, it questions the dominant deficit views of first-generation students and their family interactions. We conclude by arguing that the emphasis on support as comprising social networks offers a much-needed lens to recognise and then support the interconnected patterns of relations between individuals and the resources available.

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