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Following a reminder as to the fact that the academic degree obtained determines more than ever young people’s social and professional integration, the author shows how very early school rankings, the recent norm of postgraduate studies and the devaluation of vocational training weigh on school trajectories and heavily penalise young people especially those with a working-class background. Those among them who set out to study at university level experience their student status as ambivalent. This article lays a strong emphasis on the divisions between working-class youth and upper middle-class youth as well as on the shortcomings of public policies.