<p>Certainly, parents have a right to pay or not pay for any particular college, or for no college at all. And if the child does not like the parents’ choice, he is free to decline the offer, move out, and try to earn the money to pay for his preference. </p>
<p>But typically (I think and I hope) there is some discussion, some give and take, to arrive at what is in the best interests of the student and the rest of the family. It seems very old fashioned for parents simply to choose an occupation for a child. Is this an immigrant family by any chance?</p>
<p>In my own family, we were willing to help my S pay for either of 2 private schools that offered him scholarships, or for a less expensive public school. We set some limits (no second mortgage, no borrowing against retirement). We discussed the greater obligations the private schools would require (employment, debt) of him. We encouraged him to visit each school to decide for himself if the private schools were worth the additional costs.</p>
<p>We’ve encouraged him to get a liberal arts education but to set clear career goals, too. I’ve also encouraged him to learn a skilled trade. He has responded well to all our sage advice but I want him to make his own decisions in life. So far we all seem to be on the same page. Other families may do things differently with their own good results; I would not assume that the OP’s acquaintance is miserable about following his parents’ guidance.</p>
<p>I think too many boys look at sports management when the jobs just arent there. The parents may have been concerened about this. I think the boy (I assume boy) should have discussed with his parents and listened. To me, what might have suited the boy is a OT or PT program at a school where he could have also taken business courses, which would satisfy his parents desire of him having a valuable health care creditional and a connection with teh sports area.</p>
<p>Although I believe that the parents should encourage their son to pursue whatever career at the school of his choice, it is their money, and therefore they have every right to only provide it for a certain school. Their son still has the option to go to another school, he simply must pay for it through scholarships, financial aid, or loans. If he isn’t willing to do that, then he is essentially consenting to follow his parents wishes, and there is nothing wrong with that. It would be a much different situation if they were threatening to completely cut him off or disown him.</p>
<p>I basically fought my parents on all my college decisions. They wanted me to go into medicine, but I wanted business. They wanted me to start at the community college; I applied to Princeton. We had so many fights about it. In the end, I just did what I wanted, mostly without regard to their opinions. I was relatively free from the financial obligation to them, since the universities gave me good aid.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I’m going to the University of Chicago to major in Economics. It’s a far cry from what my parents wanted, but they’re absolutely fine with it now. I knew what I wanted, and I knew how to make it happen. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pull off UChicago, but it worked in the end.</p>
<p>If this kid really knew what he wanted, he would have been able to achieve it.</p>