Being forced to apply to a subject I’m no longer interested in.

I’m being forced by my parents to study Law. Once results come out, my parents are sitting me down at the computer and making write a personal statement and applying to Law schools in London.
I don’t want to study Law.
I don’t want to study in London.
I want to study an art subject away from London.

I discussed it with them before and they were happy for me to study an art subject outside London. But then we got calls from family. I have cousins around the world going to uni and studying “professional” subjects like finance or medicine. Older cousins who are are Lawyers. Family friends whose children are studying engineering or architecture this year.

They changed their mind because of the risk of my portfolio not getting accepted and me taking another year out.

But no one is talking about having to get a degree in Law with a 2-1 or first class before getting a job. If I study Law and fail out of school, that’s even worse.

I’m being threatened if I proceed with applying to the artistic course and I’m being forced to apply to study Law in or around London. (For valid reasons such as racism outside London but there are areas outside London with plenty of ethnic minorities)

I just don’t know what to do.

Reply 1

cloudy.skies

20

hey!

firstly, I’m so sorry this is happening!

you will not succeed in a subject you’re not passionate about. try to get your parents to understand this. you will put more effort into a subject you love and ultimately you’ll do better that way.

im not sure how else you can deal with this, other than to make them sit down with you and listen to what you have to say.

i hope it all works out! :smile:

Reply 2

Libbyc16

21

do not do what your parents do. university is about doing what you want to study. write a personal statement focusing on art and send that off, they can’t stop you doing a degree in what you want. have a talk with them about why you don’t wanna do law, why you want to do art and your future career ambitions. if none of that works just write two personal statements a law one and art one. then only send the art one off. i hope all goes well, and you get to study & apply for the course you wanna do. pm me if you need help with anything else. just remember it’s you studying the degree no one else. have a nice day :smile:

Reply 3

mxxnal

14

this is not your parents life, they won't be the ones regretting and suffering because of this choice. this is your life, and I speak from experience, make the choices that make you happy. you seem fully capable of making sensible decisions ,they should trust you with whatever you decide is the right path for you. man, in 20 years you want to be working and succeeding at something you like, not something you don't!!

Reply 4

999tigger

19

Original post by Bambi.rose

I’m being forced by my parents to study Law. Once results come out, my parents are sitting me down at the computer and making write a personal statement and applying to Law schools in London.
I don’t want to study Law.
I don’t want to study in London.
I want to study an art subject away from London.

I discussed it with them before and they were happy for me to study an art subject outside London. But then we got calls from family. I have cousins around the world going to uni and studying “professional” subjects like finance or medicine. Older cousins who are are Lawyers. Family friends whose children are studying engineering or architecture this year.

They changed their mind because of the risk of my portfolio not getting accepted and me taking another year out.

But no one is talking about having to get a degree in Law with a 2-1 or first class before getting a job. If I study Law and fail out of school, that’s even worse.

I’m being threatened if I proceed with applying to the artistic course and I’m being forced to apply to study Law in or around London. (For valid reasons such as racism outside London but there are areas outside London with plenty of ethnic minorities)

I just don’t know what to do.

Arent you leaving it a bit late for 2020 applications?

1. Most of the decent law schools will be full up.
I would question the point of going to a poor one and some I would not bother.

2. That means leaving London becomes an option.

3. Do you know what grades you expect? That will determine the law school open to you.

4. Unless you get a decent 2:1 then you are more or less finished imo.

5. You can tell your parents Law is fiercely competitive and many people do not make it. Many people will not get jobs and its much better to have a 2:1 in an arts subject than a 2:2 or lower in law.

6. You can also tell your parents it doesnt matter what subject you do, but you can still become a lawyer as all potential trainees are required to sit the solicitors qualifying exam which you can do with any degree subject.

7. You can also tell your parents over 50% of solicitors do not have a law degree. So you can still do law exams without a law degree. This is a popular choice.

8. The racism outside London imo is nonsense and London is a lot more dangerous than many other cities. It would be an excellent opportunity to see somewhere else and get some independence. Your parents are at risk of forcing you into something in a way you dont want to go , making you unhappy and decreasing your chance of a legal career because they dont actually know what they are talking about.

9. If you want ask them if they have any questions and I will try and answer them.

10. Ofc there is no guarantee you will make it from your intended career, but imo your life to mess up.

Reply 5

Bambi.rose

OP

2

Original post by 999tigger

Arent you leaving it a bit late for 2020 applications?

1. Most of the decent law schools will be full up.
I would question the point of going to a poor one and some I would not bother.

2. That means leaving London becomes an option.

3. Do you know what grades you expect? That will determine the law school open to you.

4. Unless you get a decent 2:1 then you are more or less finished imo.

5. You can tell your parents Law is fiercely competitive and many people do not make it. Many people will not get jobs and its much better to have a 2:1 in an arts subject than a 2:2 or lower in law.

6. You can also tell your parents it doesnt matter what subject you do, but you can still become a lawyer as all potential trainees are required to sit the solicitors qualifying exam which you can do with any degree subject.

7. You can also tell your parents over 50% of solicitors do not have a law degree. So you can still do law exams without a law degree. This is a popular choice.

8. The racism outside London imo is nonsense and London is a lot more dangerous than many other cities. It would be an excellent opportunity to see somewhere else and get some independence. Your parents are at risk of forcing you into something in a way you dont want to go , making you unhappy and decreasing your chance of a legal career because they dont actually know what they are talking about.

9. If you want ask them if they have any questions and I will try and answer them.

10. Ofc there is no guarantee you will make it from your intended career, but imo your life to mess up.

Applying for 2021

Reply 6

Bambi.rose

OP

2

Original post by pepsimaxcherry

hey!

firstly, I’m so sorry this is happening!

you will not succeed in a subject you’re not passionate about. try to get your parents to understand this. you will put more effort into a subject you love and ultimately you’ll do better that way.

im not sure how else you can deal with this, other than to make them sit down with you and listen to what you have to say.

i hope it all works out! :smile:

Thank you

Reply 7

Anonymous #1

If you're 18 you can do what you want

Reply 8

Bambi.rose

OP

2

Original post by pepsimaxcherry

hey!

firstly, I’m so sorry this is happening!

you will not succeed in a subject you’re not passionate about. try to get your parents to understand this. you will put more effort into a subject you love and ultimately you’ll do better that way.

im not sure how else you can deal with this, other than to make them sit down with you and listen to what you have to say.
i hope it all works out! :smile:

Original post by Libbyc16

do not do what your parents do. university is about doing what you want to study. write a personal statement focusing on art and send that off, they can’t stop you doing a degree in what you want. have a talk with them about why you don’t wanna do law, why you want to do art and your future career ambitions. if none of that works just write two personal statements a law one and art one. then only send the art one off. i hope all goes well, and you get to study & apply for the course you wanna do. pm me if you need help with anything else. just remember it’s you studying the degree no one else. have a nice day :smile:

Thank you I’ll try :smile:

Reply 9

Anonymous #2

Well all I would say to them is that “ do u want me to be happy” and then when they say yes, say well you’re making me unhappy by forcing me to do a subject that I have no interest in. Just because they are your parents doesn’t give them the right to tell u how to live your life, honestly I would refuse to write the personal statement in front of them and I would apply to where I want. U will heavily regret it in the future, but just simply ignore them, they will have to get over it eventually. U shouldn’t be held back just because of racism etc, it’s stupid that you have to even worry about this in today’s society really, if u want to art do it, how is that still not professional. You’re your own person, don’t let them compare u to others and u are still successful no matter what career u want to go into.

Reply 10

lostcohort

3

Your life, your rules.

I was in your position. Ten years later, I'm ****ed off that my parents pushed me into a degree I didn't want to do. A waste of a decade. Starting from scratch at 28 is ****, and my relationship with them is irreparably ruined.

You're 18 (or soon will be). You only get one chance at life. Do you, not your parents.

You have been warned.