I am a senior in high school and have applied to various colleges. I have decided on one, but my parents won’t let me go. I will be 18 in May (summer before college). Is there any way I can submit my deposit and go to college without parental consent? They never went to college so don’t understand the importance of it. They know that I am really passionate about this, but are still firm with saying no.
Once you are 18, I don’t believe your parents can block you from attending college. How will you pay for it, though? If you don’t have a fair amount of money under your control, do you plan on working and attending college at the same time?
Have a look at Dependency Override to see if it can apply to you:
http://cca-ct.org/financial%20aid%202008.pdf
http://www.finaid.org/educators/pj/dependencyoverrides.phtml
^^ Based upon what the OP said, it isn’t going to happen.
is community college an option? you could study and work for two years and then transfer.
Why they don’t let you go to college?
Your high school guidance counselor is likely in a better position to guide you - taking into consideration your community, unique family situation, academic performance, etc. pose the question to your school guidance counselor the same way you did here.
Good luck!
If you do not go to college after finishing high school, will you get a job ?
If so, many employers offer tuition reimbursement for college courses whether taken in class or on the internet.
Is it that they do not want you to go to this college, or that they do not want you to go to any college?
If the objection is to this college, what is the reason, and are other colleges acceptable?
If the objection is to any college, what is the reason, and what do they want you to do instead?
If it’s that your parents want you to live at home, and commute to the nearest college, instead of paying for you to go to the college of your choice, I suggest that you take them up on that deal. Choose to study something that’s going to make you economically independent of them, as soon as possible, like nursing, or welding, something that will earn you a good living after at most a two year degree. Live by their rules, as long as it doesn’t interfere with you getting that degree/certification that’s going to make you economically independent of them.
If it’s really that they don’t want you to continue with your education at all, I suspect that there is a lot of back-story here that you didn’t mention, all focused around the issue of controlling your behavior, whether it’s wanting you to comply with their restrictions, or with the restrictions of some organization that they are members of (culture, religion, cult, whatever). I know it is really, really hard, but if they’ll let you go to a nearby community college, keep your mouth shut, abide by their rules, and get that degree to get you the good-paying job asap, and then move out.
If it’s that your parents are forbidding you to go to college at all, because they have other plans for you, such as marrying you off within the confines of their religion/cult, or planning that you should live at home, go to work, and give them your earnings, then you DO have another option. I will send you a private message.
- Have you been accepted? if not, the conversation is hypothetical
- Are your parents saying no to all colleges, or just the one you say you want?
- As others have asked, are you expecting your parents to pay for college for you?
One of your questions is whether or not you can go to college even if your parents don’t want you to. The answer to that is yes, you certainly can. However you will need to find a place that you can pay for without any assistance. What are your grades and test scores like? If they are very good, there are a few that do offer large merit-based scholarships and you could manage on your own.
Each school individually decides if there is a component of abuse involved. It’s hard to tell in this case.