In the US, a college or university education is considered mandatory for many high school students. The process of selecting a college is critical to determining a fundamentally formative part of the transition from adolescence to adulthood, and the transition from living at home with parents to living on a college campus is often compared to moving to a foreign country. Prior to college, most people experience a hierarchy of influence in their lives that centers on family, with secondary influence from figures of authority and friend groups. However, in college, this balance shifts in favor of peer and friend group influence because the student is separated physically from the direct influence of family members. Many students undergo a shift in identity, often described as finding oneself, in the college environment while navigating the competing influences of professors, friends, peers, and mentors and the distant influence of family. Only If You’re Lucky centers on such a transition for Margot and her friends, and critical components of college life are necessary to understand Margot’s journey.

The dominance of influence from peer networks and friend groups in college derives from the close proximity of students to one another and from the social groups they form for comfort and support.