I am extremely proud of my college, but my parents are constantly bringing me down. They point out that if I had just filled out the ivy league applications, and applied to schools like Duke and Northwestern, I would be in a better situation. I literally had a 30 ACT, I was never getting into those schools. How am I supposed to convince them I didn’t make a mistake by not applying to the ivys? My college counselor thought USC and Michigan were reaches, so I would never have gotten in 
“Mom, Dad, I love you, but you’re really bringing me down. I’m proud of my school and want to look to the future. My counselor thought those other schools were reaches. That’s in the past, anyway. Please don’t bring this up again.” And after that, “Mom, Dad, we discussed that and the matter is closed.” “Mom, Dad, we discussed that and the matter is closed.” “Mom, Dad, we discussed that and the matter is closed.”
Can you ask your guidance counselor to talk to your parents?
As long as they end up supporting where you do go, this, like a bad meal, will pass.
Play the long game, in all probability it’ll work out fine. Just not immediately.
@juleslovelife What college are you going to attend? Your previous threads indicated Michigan, but that you were accepted from the waitlist at Berkeley.
Seriously, too bad you didnt apply to a couple of those schools…then you would have been rejected and then…end of story.
Unfortunately, it’s possible that your parents will always do the “what if” game. These kind of parents have no idea how hard it is to get into those schools.
No, all you can do is just show them the admissions stats for those schools…and point out to them that those who are in the bottom quartile are athletes, artistic/performance talents…not students like you.
They are disappointed with Berkeley?
If you got off the waitlist at Michigan and Berkeley, your parents should be doing backflip as those were absolute reaches for you - congrats!
Berkeley is an amazing school… Maybe your parents recognize that Berkeley is a good school and that if you go into Berkeley, maybe you could have gotten into an Ivy. Honestly, as long as you are happy, you shouldn’t worry about what other people think, even your parents.
Tell them they’re tempting you to feel like you’ve not done well enough, and that what you’re going to be doing for the next four plus years of your life is not good enough. Tell them you want them to be celebrating with you, and excited for you. Tell them you want to know they’re proud of you, and the “if only’s” take away from your ability to feel that they’re proud, like you could’ve should’ve done better. Tell them you really need that from them, and ask them to stop the “if only’s.” Parents don’t want to make their kids feel bad. They probably don’t realize what they’re doing, and its impact on you. But for you, I hope you’re proud of your accomplishments, and excited for a bright future, and know that how you feel, and what you think can overcome others’ judgements…especially when they’re wrong.
Weirdo parents want me to send you links showing prestige in undergrad is all but irrelevant for just about every major except business when looking at total income over a lifetime?
Mid tier or Ivy if you are atopping at UG it really doesnt matter give or take 5% for almost any field.
@juleslovelife I’m sorry to hear that. I can imagine that is a real downer. 30 ACT is what, like 95th percentile composite? You did great. I hope you can have an honest talk with them, let them know their attitude is negatively affecting you and encourage them to be supportive.
Otherwise, you’re just going to have to know yourself that you did was awesome and make the best of whatever school you are lucky to attend. Don’t let this stuff affect your college career. Go do great things that interest and inspire you. This will pass.
Considering that Cal and Michigan have similar admission standards for OOS applicants (and you are obviously OOS for either Cal or Michigan) as some of the schools your parents wanted you to apply to/attend, perhaps you should have applied to a couple. Universities look at far more than just ACT scores, and the Ivy League admit many students with ACT scores of 30. You must have had more to offer than just a 30 on the ACT, so well done.
But that’s in the past, and applying to schools that your parents think are worthy is no longer an option. The good news is, Cal and Michigan are excellent universities in their own right. Where it matters most, graduate school admissions committees and corporate recruitment offices, those two are considered as good as most Ivy League schools.