Ellen Bryer, Ph.D. Student in Sociology, published her first solo-authored paper in Sociological Forum, titled, "My Debt? Our Debt? Ambiguity and Advantage in Family Financial Assistance for Graduate School?"

Ellen Bryer, Ph.D. Student in Sociology, published her first solo-authored paper in Sociological Forum, titled, "My Debt? Our Debt? Ambiguity and Advantage in Family Financial Assistance for Graduate School?"

 This paper explores key class differences in the process and forms of family financial assistance for graduate and professional education. Working-class young adults receive clear, mainly in-kind “business as usual” support that, while limited, is consistent with both expectations and prior support with undergraduate education. In contrast, despite proclamations of financial independence after college, young adults from middle-class backgrounds engage in an emotional “dance” of family assistance.