This case study sought to understand the experiences of rural students at an R1 Doctoral University in the Southeastern United States. Using interviews, demographic information surveys, and descriptive statistics, this single-case study assessed the phenomenological experiences of rural students from Georgia. The researcher engaged in deductive, inductive, emotion, and holistic coding in ATLAS.ti to discover themes in the transcripts. Three research questions framed the study: 1. What is the rural student experience at an R1 Doctoral University in the Southeastern United States 2. How do rural students decide to attend an R1 Doctoral University in the Southeastern United States? 3. How does being rural affect a students sense of belonging at an R1 Doctoral University in the Southeastern United States?For first research question, three themes emerged: (a) curricular disadvantage sets rural students back, especially in STEM (b) socioeconomic status mediates experience (c) rural students alter their religious views in college. For the second research questions, two themes emerged: (a) poor college advising in rural public schools (b) geography is a dynamic barrier. Finally, for the third research question, two themes emerged: (a) rural students experience a shift in cultural and academic expectations (b) residence halls create cultural bridging opportunities for rural students. The researcher provided implications for future research and for practitioners in the concluding chapter of this study.