Improving retention and graduate outcomes for students from a widening participation (WP) background is key to achieving more equitable outcomes. However, evidence suggests WP students experienced different challenges to their peers during the Covid-19 pandemic. With a focus on the pivot to online learning, we explored how WP students experienced HE during this time to understand which practices supported students’ access to education and which may have exacerbated existing inequalities. Data were collected across six focus groups from two Scottish universities (N = 23). While we found many similarities between WP students’ experiences and the broader student population, our findings also suggest coming from a position of relative disadvantage magnifies both positive and negative elements of online learning. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for pedagogical practice to enhance the experience of WP students specifically but can also be applied to the student population more generally.