Aight, well I’m a first generation immigrant and of course I have those parents who are all into me going to a top school and getting a good job and all that blah blah blah. Well after numerous discussions with my parents, I’ve concluded that in their world I have like 3 options in college:
<li>pre-med to be a doctor (hell no)</li>
<li>pre-law to be a lawyer</li>
<li>Business/economics</li>
They clearly want me to do one of those 3, even though they say they want me to do whatever I want. And although thty want me to go to a top university I get the typical “we’re not paying 40k a year for you to major in History or Philosophy”
I might end up doing one of the three tracks listed above, but only on my own choice. I have no idea yet what I want to study, what I want to do for a job, or even what effect my studies really even have on my future job (I think little).
So in this whole admissions process, how do I convince my parents that there are other options besides those 3 job oriented choices… what other jobs could there possibly be?
<p>Here's how: tell them that you can't major in premed or prelaw at a top college... and then tell them that Philosophy is an excellent preparation for law school :)</p>
<p>Both of those are true, but it would be slightly dishonest to tell them that and then not plan on going to law school. So I suppose the other thing to do would be to do a lot of research into careers that interest you and how to get into them, and make sure to have a back-up plan that your parents approve of for what happens if your career of choice doesn't work out.</p>
<p>Well, if you really think you might go to law school, the best track is NOT to major in "pre-law." In fact, most colleges don't have such a major. The best approach is to major in anything that you enjoy and will do well in. I was actually a graphic design major before going to law school and my husband was an anthropology major. So it's very probable that being a histor major or a philosophy major will lead to one of their 3 options for you!</p>
<p>Well my parents basically said theyd like me to do Economics/Business undergrad, Engineering Undergrad, some Science undergrad, or any undergrad i want if i promise to go to law school. Ya, this sucks.</p>
<p>Not many colleges have pre-law as a major. I asked some lawyers about this and they told me (mind you, this is just a few lawyers so I could be wrong here) that law schools generally don't mind what you major in...although many major in English or History or Econ..</p>
<p>What do you want to do if your parents didn't have their opinions, do you know?</p>
<p>If you are counting on your parents to write $40+k checks each year, then their opinion matters. The only way to be able to make independent choices academically is to be independent financially. I presume you are not ready for that. </p>
<p>That said, you may be able to find some middle ground between your interests in academic exploration and your parents' interest in having you develop a marketable skill. Would they be reassured, say, if you agreed to minor in bio, math, or econ? Or could you agree to do the course work for a double major?</p>