Resumo A partir de questionários e entrevistas com bolsistas do ProUni da PUC-Rio, o presente artigo investiga, à luz dos conceitos de capital simbólico e capital informacional de Bourdieu, qual o sentido dado ao ingresso no ensino superior por esses bolsistas, os diferentes significados assumidos pelo ProUni em suas trajetórias e como suas motivações se relacionam com a escolha da PUC-Rio. O trabalho indica como os bolsistas orientaram seu ingresso no ensino superior e, alguns casos, mudaram de instituição de forma a garantir a qualidade de sua formação e aumentar as possibilidades de ascensão social.

Abstract This article investigates the significance of access to higher education for a group of beneficiaries of a governmental scholarship scheme (ProUni) studying at the Catholic University of Rio (PUC-Rio). It investigates the different senses of access to higher education for these scholars, the different meanings of the ProUni in their educational careers, and how their motivations are related to their decision to carry out their studies at PUC-Rio. The analysis is carried out in dialogue with Bourdieu's concept of symbolic capital and informational capital. Using questionnaires and interviews, the article indicates how scholars guide and direct their access to higher education, in some cases changing institutions in order to guarantee the quality of their education and to increase their chances of upward mobility.