Abby Connolly
There are a lot of parents who have argued with their teenagers over what they should study in college. Some parents refuse to help pay for their child’s tuition unless they go into a specific area of study, and others let their child choose their degrees on their own.
One man recently got in trouble with his niece’s parents after offering to pay her tuition so she could go to the college of her choice and study what she wanted.
He’s a 48-year-old widowed father to his 15-year-old daughter. He also has a 17-year-old niece named Ella, his sister’s daughter. Ella is about to enter her senior year of high school and really wants to get a history degree in college.
He says Ella is a bright student who should at least easily be able to get into her safe schools.
However, Ella’s parents are unhappy with her wanting to study history and want her to get a degree in something that comes with more job security, like science or engineering.
He makes a decent amount of money with his six-figure salary and ultimately believes life is too short and you should do what you love.
“I told Ella that if she can’t get a scholarship, I’ll provide her with financial aid during university, and she can pay me back whenever,” he explained.
“She’s now working on her early admissions and is doing volunteer work while cutting her usual summer job hours at the local amusement park in half.”
Suddenly, his sister and brother-in-law were very angry when they heard that he offered to pay for her to attend the college of her choice. They said the only reason he makes enough money to send his niece to school is because he’s an engineer and his late wife was a pharmacist.
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