This study discusses the Brazilian higher education and the democratization of access and retention of students in universities. In our country, the continuity of higher level studies is still extremely difficult for much of the population, as they experience the whole time the social inequalities in our society, as pointed out by this study. Since then, we propose to study the policies of affirmative actions, specifically the booking system of university places, discussing the need for equal opportunities in terms of access to higher education. Also studies the student assistance policy, with the objectives of the National Student Assistance Plan (PNAES) and its importance for the maintenance of students in their universities, highlighting the young people who access places through reservation system in public educational institutions and through the University for All Program in private or communitary educational institutions. Emphasizing the difficulty of staying faced by students bereft of financial resources and groups historically living in social inequality conditions in completing their courses in universities where they are inserted, this paper brings the experience of university students served by the Adolescent Care Association, presenting the difficulties and possibilities experienced in his college career. The study highlights the problems faced in universities by students from the popular classes and demonstrates the need for expansion and visibility of student assistance policies so that in fact the students living in social inequality conditions may have their stay requirements catered and therefore, conclude satisfactorily their courses.