What to do about my mom dictating my future?

[Steffe]

Listen, I know I'm going to sound like a brat, but my mom is trying to dictate my future. I want to be a teacher, but she doesn't want me to. There's colleges I'd like to go to, but she a) wants me to go elsewhere, b) wants the whole family to come along. I would like to go to a teacher college in NC, but she doesn't want me to because my sister will have to adjust to a new high school if she moves there.
I am a Junior in HS, but I already see issues down the road.

 

[WonderingWildly]

Is your mother paying for the college?

Unfortunately if she is she can refuse to pay for you to go to the college you really want to go to. If that happens, it's up for you to convince her that you really want to go to that school and that you leaving home to attend school isn't a horrible thing.

If you can't convince her of any of this I would suggest you not go at all. Hold off on school for 1-2 years working and saving up money to go to the school you want to. If you do that, you'll have your own money, you may be able to move out and you can get student loans and grants to help you.

There's also always the catch that she may let you go wherever you want if you refuse to go at all.

The problem is that most likely she can claim you as a dependent until you are around 24. To get around this the extreme choice would be to become emancipated and basically do what I just said. This would not allow her to make a dent in your grants because of her income, however your issue doesn't sound that bad.

I would recommend doing research on several colleges and having 3-5 choices. Prepare the pros and con's and look into the dorms. Many parent's feel uncomfortable letting their kids just move into an apartment, so that may be a plus.

Bring them up to her and explain why you want to go. Also remember that you don't HAVE to go to a teacher's college to teach. If you major in English you can basically go anywhere with a English program and still become a teacher.