The article analyses the subject of equality of university experience, dwelling on the implications of using various combinations of welfare resources (deriving from the state, the family and the labour market) on the levels of dependence and stratification of young English and Italian university students. The first section uses Eurostudent and national data to explore similarities and differences in support policies in Italy and England, and their effects on young students’ transition to adult age. The second section analyses the impact of the reforms of 2010 in the two countries, bringing out, alongside the continuing substantial differences, the recent mechanisms of hybridization between the English and Italian systems, due to the growing role of family resources. The impact of these phenomena will be analysed in the light of the salience of concepts of «meritocracy» and «social mobility» in the national debates. only subscribers can see the full article