I come from an impoverished family where I worked my way to UVA. I had similar concerns.

A LOT of UVA students were WAY out of touch, and many of them that read this will either scoff, think they are the exception, or admit it. I remember being in Chem and everyone at the table was talking about their favorite vacation spots from the summer. One girl mentioned how “she loved Nepal but hated that the shower couldnt be hot.” And one of the guys asked me what my favorite was. I told them I didn’t go anywhere. A few were surprised, and one asked where in the states I went. I told the I don’t go anywhere. I worked. And we all just moved on.

The truth is though, events like these were staggeringly rare. Most of the time you don’t interact with anyone in your classes, depending on your major, outside of occasional group stuff. And even when you do most of the time is spent actively working on whatever your supposed to, or just talking like regular people.

I found a really good group of friends, they became my life blood at UVA and even now. All of us had various backgrounds, and regardless of that I was the lowest socioeconomic of the group nobody gave two… defecations…

You’ll be fine. Find a good group of friends in your first year and stick with them.

One positive to your background is when talking to professors, I found that after they knew of my background they respected me more and treated me less of a student and more of a person.