Redditor Cuts Ties With Parents After Finding Out They're Paying For His Sister's Tuition After They Refused To Pay For His

One Reddit user recently aired out his feelings on the Am I The A**hole subreddit. The original poster (OP) is a 23-year-old male working for one of the tech giants (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google).

His issue is with his parents, who have always had high expectations of him. Ever since high school, OP was told to study hard, get good grades, and participate in extracurricular activities.

They always told him stories about other people's children who are attending Ivy League schools or pursuing graduate or law degrees at private institutions. OP did as he was told and was accepted into one of these Ivy League universities.

OP was over the moon about his acceptance, and he vividly remembers crying out of pure joy when he saw that he had been accepted. He thought his parents would share in his victory since they've been pushing him for as long as he can remember.

However, when OP broke the news, his parents were less than thrilled and told him, "We think you should apply to a state school because it's a lot cheaper." They reasoned that it's just as good for his major, which is Computer Science.

They even told OP how much they made per month and what they spent on the mortgage, which showed him they couldn't fit his tuition into the budget. The parents shared their bank account with OP and made him do the calculations himself.

OP saw that his parents were correct, and he had to regretfully decline his invitation to a top university. He then completed his education at a state university on a student loan.

His sister recently called to tell him she got accepted into an Ivy League school.

OP congratulated her but asked if their parents would also force her to decline the offer due to the cost. To OP's surprise, his sister said that their dad told her not to worry about her tuition.

OP was shocked and hung up the phone. He then realized that his parents were not as broke as they had told him.

His dad has also worked at those top tech companies. OP believes that he has high-value stocks that amount to a few hundred thousand, if not millions, of dollars.

He confronted his parents the next time they called him, and they visibly tensed up. They told OP that their financial decisions were none of his business.

OP declared that it was the last time he would ever speak to them. He has since ignored all of their attempts to contact him.

parents_lied__

OP's full Reddit post is below:

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"As much as it pained me."

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This is where things take a turn.

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Can you blame him, really?

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OP entertained questions from other Redditors, and that's where we found out he maxed out his student loan to pay for college.

MissPricklyUnicorn, parents_lied__

Maybe it was the parents' twisted way of teaching OP a lesson.

MissPricklyUnicorn, parents_lied__

Could it be that the sister is the favorite child?

duraraross

If that was the case, OP wished his parents were just blatant about it.

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A sympathetic commenter offered their perspective based on a similar experience.

Yukon-Don Yukon-Don

One person pointed out that the parents did, in fact, help OP reach his current stellar career.

Fox-Smol Fox-Smol

Looking at the big picture, they did not help OP at all.

_corbae_

Compared to other college students, OP's parents did an okay job, according to this Reddit user.

thatcatlibrarian

The crux of the problem is not really the money, as this one Redditor pointed out.

retired-penguin

That trust is difficult to rebuild, given that OP is very much hurt by his parents' actions.

billyyankNova

They did push him to strive for those top colleges only to sing an entirely different tune when OP's hard work paid off.

flubbymagic

Two things can be true: OP is indeed in a better financial position than most people his age, but it's also true that his parents did a horrible thing.

loginorregister9 loginorregister9

Their actions basically signal that they favor one child over the other.

KeyFly3 KeyFly3

By forcing OP to turn down his offer, his parents essentially cut OP's dream short.

caz__z caz__z

Behaviors like these lead people to therapy years later.

NotReallyTaylorSwift

OP is from an Asian household, and as stereotypical as it sounds, OP's experience is not uncommon.

I_AM_STEPHEN_HAWKING

The parents could have handled the situation better. Instead of letting OP believe that they didn't have money for his tuition, they could have just explained things to him.

Obviously, OP is a smart guy; he probably would have understood his parents had they just been upfront. They are now in a difficult position brought about by their own manipulation and deception.