u/General_Car3890

Okay so, my birthday is coming up soon and I wanted to go to 3 Universal studios parks (Epic universe, Islands of adventure, and Universal studios). My friends and I discussed our love for theme parks including universal orlando. I thought this would be the perfect time to go. So I did all the planning: Found the cheapest vacation package with the best deals. The total cost for each person was around $619. That includes the premier hotel stay for 2 nights, unlimited express passes, and tickets for 3 parks. I thought this was an amazing deal and i shared it with the group. Everyone was on board. The next day i wanted to confirm with everyone when payment was due. The payment is due in about a month. One of my friends expressed vividly how she felt saying: “6 hundred dollars is already a lot for someone’s bday thats isnt mine AND its due in less than a month??” Which caught me off guard because before i told her the due date she was cool with the cost. I don’t know If i should leave her out or budget around her because she’s one of my closest friends and the group is already small.

I feel like I’m being forced to choose between my parents and the life I built at college.

I’m 19 and currently attending a university (FIU) about 4 hours away from home. My parents pay for my tuition, so financially I depend on them. Recently they’ve been getting really upset with my school and are threatening to pull me out because they think the school is “out to get me” and doesn’t have my best interests in mind.

The main issue is that during my freshman year, my advisors didn’t strongly push me to take Writing & Rhetoric 1 and 2 right away. They told me it’s recommended to take them freshman year, but not absolutely necessary. Also to mention I didn’t pass college algebra. Now I’m going into sophomore year and when I tried to register for the classes, they were full.

My parents wanted me to do a transient application at another college to take the courses over the summer and transfer them back. But my advisors told me it wasn’t necessary and that I could just take them in the fall instead. I personally don’t mind taking them later because I’m still on track overall.

What’s making things worse is that my parents are angry that I’m listening to my advisors and professors instead of them. They keep implying that I don’t respect their opinions or don’t want to listen to them, even though I’m just trying to follow the advice of the people at the university. They also keep saying they know better because they went to college too.

My mom was yelling at me over the phone about it, and now my parents are threatening to take me out of the school entirely. I’m honestly really upset because I’ve built friendships and a life here, and if they pull me out I’d basically lose all of that and have to restart somewhere else with applications and everything.

I feel stuck because technically they’re paying, so I don’t feel like I have much control over the situation. Has anyone dealt with parents trying to control college decisions because they’re funding school? How do you handle this without destroying your relationship with your parents or losing your place at school?