In recent decades, in line with global transformations in higher education, universities have shifted from institutions with a unified scientific mission to a pluralistic space characterized by diverse functions. In this process, students’ identities and styles of living have also ceased to follow a single model and have diversified into multiple forms. One such form is the phenomenon of leisure-oriented lifestyles, in which the university is understood not as a site for academic excellence or career investment, but as a space for enjoyment, sociability, and non-academic experiences. Despite this, prior research has relied on quantitative approaches, focusing on students’ educational motivations, academic performance, and structural issues in higher education. Less attention has been paid to a understanding of students’ lifeworlds, their systems of meaning, and their everyday practices. To address this gap, the present study adopted a qualitative approach and used thematic analysis to examine the experiences of ten undergraduate students at Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch. The findings revealed four main themes: “Living on the Enjoyment Frequency,” “A Justificatory Dialogue with Academic Conscience,” “The Architecture of Leisure,” and “The Art of Staying Afloat.” The results suggest that leisure-oriented lifestyles—where the logic of cafés supplants the university’s academic mission—are not indicative of passivity. Rather, they constitute a mode of identity redefinition and a form of creative resistance against the dominant discourse of the university. Identifying this student lifestyle can therefore prove useful for policy-making in higher education and for gaining a more nuanced understanding of the complexities of students’ experience.