Drawing on interviews with 13 low-income students from a small, highly selective college in the northeast, this study explores how social isolation and belonging may impact the trajectories of low-income and first-generation college students on elite college campuses. Findings indicate that students felt they did not "fit in" in their home communities and thus expected to feel that they "belonged" in college. These expectations were not met when students arrived on campus and interacted with their primarily affluent peers; in response, they sought other students from similar social class backgrounds. Students found belonging in these groups, separate from affluent peers. Although students saw these friendships as beneficial for shielding them from isolation and supporting their academic success, their self-segregation within the campus community may result in their gaining fewer advantages of elite colleges or access to upward mobility; this raises questions regarding support and integration of low-income students on elite college campuses.