The Escuela Regional de Educación Media Superior de Ocotlán (EREMSO) is a high school located in Ocotlán, an urban area of Jalisco, Mexico. This institution is attended not only by students from Ocotlán itself, but also by students from neighboring provinces, usually small rural towns of low income dedicated to commerce, livestock and agriculture.This is a comparative study that attempts to investigate the socio-cultural and economic context of these students, as well as to explore their needs and, based on them, to detect their problems.This work can serve as a reference for other schools with similar characteristics, and it also invites research, as well as the development and implementation of relevant intervention strategies through the objective analysis of results, in order to guarantee quality education for all.