Using survey data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) from 2008-2016, this paper examines the factors contributing to a reliance on welfare assistance.  In particular, the paper focuses on students’ high school math and science course sequences to see if higher levels of achievement in these areas lead to lower levels of welfare dependence.  Preliminary results indicate that students who take higher levels of math and science in high school are less likely to depend on welfare assistance in adulthood.  These results are consistent with numerous studies that find that education is a key factor in breaking the cycle of welfare dependency.