<p>My friend wants to major in business, but his parents want him to major in something Biology-related (to become a doctor, I suppose) and made him apply to schools with good Biology programs. They won't finance his tuition unless he agrees.</p>
<p>This just ticks me off. =(</p>
<p>Gosh, that’s mean!
I can’t understand why some parents think that they have created somebody just to obey orders! We are not machines, for God’s sake!</p>
<p>That is absolutely ■■■■■■■■. Even if they want him to be a doctor, you can major in anything you want and still get into med school. I mean, non-science majors even have a higher rate of acceptance than science majors.</p>
<p>My parents won’t pay full freight for my education unless it’s a top 15 US News school. It’s not that they can’t afford it either. Which is bull, since my dream school (USC) is just as good as any of those schools. I’m really stressing out over whether or not I can get some merit scholarships just so I can go.</p>
<p>Assume that a person’s happiness is directly related to the amount of money he or she earns and that that a certain subset of jobs produces higher salaries than other jobs. Then if someone has a job in that subset, he or she will be happier. Suppose that particular subsets of values of the rank of colleges in USNWR and/or major in college can accurately predict that the eventual job of someone whose college/major matches those subsets of values will be in J. Then going to one of those colleges and/or majoring in one of those fields will produce a greater salary and therefore greater happiness. Given this reasoning and that most parents want their children to have as much happiness as possible, it is obvious that most parents should force their children to go to colleges/pick majors that fit those criteria.</p>
<p>There are some parents that adopt assumptions used in the above reasoning, for assorted reasons, and thus come to the previous conclusion. Many of these assumptions are faulty, however. Some people are very happy and don’t make a lot of money. Not all doctors majored in biology or chemistry or even a science-related field. Some of the top CEOs graduated from relatively unknown colleges. Some writers make more than some engineers. Clearly, many of the assumptions underlying the above reasoning are not valid.</p>
<p>So an answer to your question is that people adopt faulty assumptions that can cause them to reason their way to false conclusions, causing them to do things that may ultimately harm the happiness of their children while still thinking of themselves as considerate.</p>
<p>^The above post truly highlights perhaps what I believe might be the greatest flaw of contemporary parenting. Countless times, my parents have done what they truly considered to be best for me, when in reality it not only completed the exact opposite, but also at the same time, deteriorated my relationship with them. If parents and offspring truly could understand each other, an end would finally be put to this unfortunate situation.</p>
<p>I have a friend whose parents wouldn’t let her to apply to any schools without engineering programs. It really upset her, because she said she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to do that now.</p>
<p>I get where the parents are coming from, but I also get where the students are coming from.</p>
<p>The parents might be footing the bill, but it’s their child’s life.</p>
<p>My parents are honestly okay with whatever I choose to do. And I’m happy about that. My mom does keep saying that she won’t pay for my college education and that her monetary dues ends for me on June 4 since I turn 18, but I do know that she’s just joking… or at least I think she is. XD</p>
<p>Awesomely, college will probably be cheaper for my parents than my education has been for the past 11 out of 13 years of my education. That’s with room and board and everything. XD</p>