How much did your parents impact upon your decision for your career/degree?
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I think my mum tried quite hard to sway me, actually. She's a bit of an overachiever and expects me to be the same, and had the whole attitude of "Well, you're good enough to do sciences/law/other 'serious' subjects, you should do them."
I let her influence my subject choices up until this year, to an extent. She thinks that one has to have Higher Maths to succeed... In any degree... -__-
Anyway, I applied for Digital Art/Multimedia because I'm interested in interactivity/games. She wanted me to go for comp sci, even though my passion is for the art side of it all.
And now she is trying to sway me towards GSA as opposed to Abertay because of the prestige. Oh parents...
I let her influence my subject choices up until this year, to an extent. She thinks that one has to have Higher Maths to succeed... In any degree... -__-
Anyway, I applied for Digital Art/Multimedia because I'm interested in interactivity/games. She wanted me to go for comp sci, even though my passion is for the art side of it all.
And now she is trying to sway me towards GSA as opposed to Abertay because of the prestige. Oh parents...
Im lucky - im free to do whatever I want anywhere I want 
While my dad used to joke about making sure I went into a job which earned a lot of money, it was always clear he was joking, and I never felt much pressure. Neither of my parents really intentionally exerted any pressure on me.
That said, they did unintentionally influence me. My dad left school with one O-Level, and only returned to education in middle age, just when I was a child. He went to uni as a mature student and as a little child I only really saw the negative bits of the experience (the hard work -- I didn't perceive that he enjoyed his subject and of course I didn't appreciate why he was doing it). This rather turned me against the idea of university, and it was only when I was seventeen that doing my AS-Levels and talking to my teachers gradually persuaded me that it might be a good thing to do a degree after all. (As it turned out, it was!)
That said, they did unintentionally influence me. My dad left school with one O-Level, and only returned to education in middle age, just when I was a child. He went to uni as a mature student and as a little child I only really saw the negative bits of the experience (the hard work -- I didn't perceive that he enjoyed his subject and of course I didn't appreciate why he was doing it). This rather turned me against the idea of university, and it was only when I was seventeen that doing my AS-Levels and talking to my teachers gradually persuaded me that it might be a good thing to do a degree after all. (As it turned out, it was!)
Original post by LtCommanderData
My dad suggested many times that he wanted me to do physics. He's not a physicist or anything, and to be fair I was considering it - but he was always in favour of that over computer science.
Come to think of it, my grandmother and my great-grandmother also told me to do physics rather than computer science!
Come to think of it, my grandmother and my great-grandmother also told me to do physics rather than computer science!
They should be proud of the fact you got into Oxford regardless.
OP: For me, it's entirely my decision.
My parents were shocked when I said I wanted to go to university. They told me to get a job. I'm an overachiever by my family's standards, I got 12 GCSE's, all A's and B's, my older sister got 3 GCSE's and my older brother got 5. Both my siblings dropped out of college and never reached this far into education as I have.
My parents thought I was joking about university and told me not to waste my time. When I was adamant about it they didn't try to sway me anymore, although I can tell they're still worried about me leaving. Mum practically begged me to go Brunel university, it's so close it's unreal, half my neighbours are students and it's not even a bus stop away. But I've firmed Kent now and I'll never forget the drop in my mother's face when I told her I'd be living over an hour away lol.
My parents thought I was joking about university and told me not to waste my time. When I was adamant about it they didn't try to sway me anymore, although I can tell they're still worried about me leaving. Mum practically begged me to go Brunel university, it's so close it's unreal, half my neighbours are students and it's not even a bus stop away. But I've firmed Kent now and I'll never forget the drop in my mother's face when I told her I'd be living over an hour away lol.
Original post by im so academic
They should be proud of the fact you got into Oxford regardless.
OP: For me, it's entirely my decision.
OP: For me, it's entirely my decision.
They are - don't worry, they support me in the decision I took, they just urged me towards a different decision at the time
Original post by KJane
My parents were shocked when I said I wanted to go to university. They told me to get a job. I'm an overachiever by my family's standards, I got 12 GCSE's, all A's and B's, my older sister got 3 GCSE's and my older brother got 5. Both my siblings dropped out of college and never reached this far into education as I have.
My parents thought I was joking about university and told me not to waste my time. When I was adamant about it they didn't try to sway me anymore, although I can tell they're still worried about me leaving. Mum practically begged me to go Brunel university, it's so close it's unreal, half my neighbours are students and it's not even a bus stop away. But I've firmed Kent now and I'll never forget the drop in my mother's face when I told her I'd be living over an hour away lol.
My parents thought I was joking about university and told me not to waste my time. When I was adamant about it they didn't try to sway me anymore, although I can tell they're still worried about me leaving. Mum practically begged me to go Brunel university, it's so close it's unreal, half my neighbours are students and it's not even a bus stop away. But I've firmed Kent now and I'll never forget the drop in my mother's face when I told her I'd be living over an hour away lol.
Good on you you'll enjoy it.
As for me, my parents didn't go to university either, so naturally when I was deciding between Engineering and Physics, they were trying to steer me towards Engineering, because people who haven't been to University can see what job you're gonna get after Engineering, but Physics?? They don't really know what it is.
A combination of them and one of my friends who was mad about F1 and Engineering sort of helped sway me towards Engineering.
Where am I now? Transferring from Engineering to Physics. So parents spend most of our lives telling us they know best then turns out they don't at all lol.
Not blaming them the fault was mine, should of talked to my Physics teachers about university and visited as many open days as possible (didn't go to any Physics ones left it late since I was still undecided on my course turns out I should have just went to both types instead)
Both my parents went to St Andrews, and I think hearing them talk about it and all the experiences they had whilst I was growing up influenced me to apply and eventually insure it.
However, my parents haven't really impacted the degree choice. History has just always been something I loved. I think they're quite surprised with the A Levels I take though (History, French, English Lit), as neither of them studied any of those subjects! My dad did Zoology at Uni (he's a failed medicine applicant, got offers but didn't get the grades) and my mum did Economics...however they are now an accountant and a year 2 teacher respectively, so they can't really lecture me on the fact I chose a degree not relevant to a particular career path
However, my parents haven't really impacted the degree choice. History has just always been something I loved. I think they're quite surprised with the A Levels I take though (History, French, English Lit), as neither of them studied any of those subjects! My dad did Zoology at Uni (he's a failed medicine applicant, got offers but didn't get the grades) and my mum did Economics...however they are now an accountant and a year 2 teacher respectively, so they can't really lecture me on the fact I chose a degree not relevant to a particular career path
Have just read this entire thread though, my dad left at whatever the legal age was and started work, he expects me I believe to get a job and pay my way. My Mum could have gone to uni as a child but her parents stopped her since “the likes of us from council houses don’t make anything of ourselves” so she never went, left school worked in a café I believe. All I get is the “be happy speech” not useful at all since I feel I should go to uni but have no idea how to go about it or what course to do even I want them to have some influence with me about it.
Not at all. In fact my Dad wanted me to be an accountant or doctor. He wasn't over the moon with my decision to study modern languages but I know that he's proud of me no matter what I do as long as I'm successful.
Not at all, they allowed me to choose and were happy with my choice.
Both my parents went to good universities. LSE and Oxford. When it came for me to be choosing my degree I was torn between Economics or Law to begin with, thinking mainly about job prospects. But I spoke to solicitors and they said choose a degree you'll enjoy then do a conversion. So I ended up going for Computer Science. My mum has never minded what I've done as long as it is academic; heck my dad didn't even know what Computer Science was until I showed him a prospectus, but now he's been convinced and 100% behind me!
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