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The aim of this study is to present a new perspective on the educational aspirations of immigrants’ descendants based on a detailed description of family situations and the time-place frameworks in which individuals migrated. According to the “Trajectoires et Origines” [TeO, Trajectories and origins] survey (INED/INSEE 2008), with social and academic characteristics controlled for, third-generation upper secondary students in France, most of European descent, are more hesitant to pursue higher education than are second-generation and other upper secondary students. Family resources related to their social position in the country of emigration prove a relevant variable for understanding disparities between immigrants’ children (second generation) and grandchildren (third generation). Second-generation parents’ disappointment with higher education—many second-generation students chose this path in the 1980s—also helps to explain third-generation students’ reservations. By taking into account family migration history, we can characterize the effect of social origin in finer detail than with the usual parents’ occupation and educational attainment indicators.