Academic experiences and plans for the future of young black women of low income families at the University of Brasilia, Brazil

This article presents the experiences of black female students admitted by the University of Brasília through the quota system (affirmative action programm). They attend courses in Engineering and Human Sciences and experienced different school socialization processes. Through group discussions and narrative interviews we had access to their experiences related to the difficulties of applying for highly disputed courses. But the admission exam was not the only difficulty. As students in courses were the majority of the colleagues came from higher income families, they have additional problems, because the grants offered to students of popular origin do not allow socialization and interaction with their peers outside the classroom. The university in general, is unprepared to receive young students of low income families. The establishment of the quota system is not sufficient to overcome social exclusion and reflects the necessity of an adjustment of the university system to the political and social requirements of the Brazilian society and its population.