<p>Yes, it's your life, but it's THEIR money. If you take their money, you accept the strings, whether you agree with them or not. If you don't want to accept the strings, don't take their money. Simple as that. If you begin with the premise that your parents don't owe you a college education of your choice, you'll be much happier. (And, by the way, probably more successful in convincing them to change their minds. I know I get my rankles up when my kid "demands" something from me beyond the bare necessities of life. And I happen not to agree with your parents, but again, it's their money.)</p>
<p>If you do want to continue to try to convince them, go to them with a solid plan - facts, figures etc. What will it cost? What professions are you looking at? What do successful people in these professions earn? How much are you willing to pay yourself, and how will you earn that money while in college? (I find people are always very generous with someone else's funds. But as I ask my dd, "If it's not important enough for you to spend your money, why should I spend mine?"). Without goals, a plan to achieve them, and a way to show your parents that you're not dealing with a pipe dream, you'll just be another kid screaming "I want what I want and I want it NOW." Be an adult about it and perhaps they'll treat you like one.</p>
<p>There is a lot of good advice for you here from those who have "been there" with stubborn parents. It's impossible to tell what will work the best with your parents. You know them, so you need to listen to ideas and see how it goes. No reason not to include UCSD in your college choices, and no reason not to take the premed courses--Chem, OChem, Bio, Physics and maybe calculus. Not a whole lot over 4 years. Most premeds I knew did not end up in med school. So if you want to play ball for a while, it isn't that big of a deal. Now of course getting into UCSD may be a problem, and you do need some safeties given the unpredictablility of the UC admissions policies. You should also let them know that there are other alternatives in life as wel as you go along your way. Not sure they will listen, but at least you are exposing them to the idea.</p>
<p>Desolation, there have been many threads on Asian parents, you might check the archieves as this is clearly a cultural issue. Meanwhile, your best news is that it would be akmost impossible to get into UCSD with a 3.6/2000, especially in a pre med major!</p>
<p>Achat - Yes, Princeton for undergraduate. I always say that the best thing my diploma got me was just that little bit of leeway in the world - I could stay home with my kids for a while and then come back to the corporate world. Of course, the dot.com bubble helped too. Almost everybody needs a little luck, right? And I don't think there is an admissions process for luck...</p>