Skip to main content
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics Homepage

Family

Articles and cases for college students on relationships with family

  • Boy diving in the air

    Lucy struggles to spread her wings when she gets a job on the other side of the country from her family, in a case about career opportunity versus family responsibility.

  • A boy working on homework at his desk

    Robert is at odds with his parents over what major he should pursue. Who should get to decide, Robert or his parents who are paying the bills?

  • Family arguing at the dinner table

    When Sophia heads home for summer vacation, her independence is quickly threatened by her parents' expectations.

  • Mark must decide whether to please his parents and be relieved of his tuition costs, or to follow his dreams and accrue significant debt.

  • Graduate holding a diploma that says

    To pay increased costs for Kevin's tuition, his parents would have to push back their retirement.

  • Does anyone get Cs at this University?

    Juliana's parents insist on looking at her academic record.

  • Books on a shelf

    A student wants to study history, but her parents want her to be an engineer.

  • empty pocket

    A student's financial situation changes after she is accepted at a prestigious, expensive university.

  • Sam's dad offers to intervene in a controversy over a grade.