Do my parents have the right to choose my college course?

Dear Maimai, China And Tingting,

I’m a fourth-year high school student and i’m ready to take entrance examination in various colleges. My problem is my parents want me to take a course i don’t like. I want a management or business course, but they want me to take up nursing. We’ve already argued many times and in the entrance exam forms i submit, they check “nursing” as first priority before they sign my documents. What can i do to convince them i don’t like the course they’ve chosen? They always say it’s for my future; what can i say to let them understand that my future will be more comfortable if i take up a course i like? Help me, please. Senior

I would try to talk to my parents one more time before deciding what school and course I will take in college. Your parents should be made to understand that if they force you to enter a course you don’t like, the likelihood of you failing and being miserable and unsuccessful is really high. Have you tried talking to an aunt? A close family friend? An older sibling? They can be your bridge to your parents. If they’re not successful in convincing your parents, then either you do what your parents want or find another way to finance your education. If you choose the latter, it will of course be very difficult for you and could strain family relations. China

While I don’t agree with your parents’ style, I can somehow understand their thinking. It’s a parents’ job to plot their child’s future and sometimes, they don’t know that they are overstepping their boundaries. I’m a new mother so I might have to check myself every now and then, too. I would suggest that you make another appeal. If that still doesn’t work, then you might not have a choice but to take up the course they want you to. Who knows? If you condition your mind well, you might even end up liking it. Sometimes there are battles you can’t win. And unless you are ready to face the consequences if you decide to defy your parents, then this is one battle you should just drop. Mai Mai

It’s a cliché, I know. But parents truly want only the best for their children. Your parents’ intentions are pure. They want a bright future for you and they believe that nursing is the right course that will lead you to this. They may be wrong in forcing you to take up a course you obviously don’t like, but please don’t hold it against them if they try. Take your entrance examinations as scheduled. I’m sure you can put down the courses you like in the priority 2 or priority 3 choices. You have a few months before the results come in. For all you know, you might not be accepted in the nursing class in the school you want. That could get you off the hook. If you’re accepted in the nursing college, then you can decide whether it’s worth it to go against your parents’ wishes or to just go with what they want. Tingting