Teen Girl Refuses To Split Her College Fund With Her Baby Brother — Because He Won't Use It For Over 15 Years
She plans to go to college next fall while her brother has not even made the decision if he will go himself yet.
Krakenimages.com / Africa Studio / Fab_1 / Shutterstock A teenage girl excited to go to college was blindsided after her parents informed her of their sudden change in plans regarding her college fund. The girl attempted to protest her parents’ decision; however, they claimed that it was their money and therefore their call.
Now, the girl wonders if she was wrong for pushing back against her parents’ new college fund plan.
The teenage girl’s parents want her to split her college fund with her baby brother.
Sharing her story to the AITA subreddit, the 17-year-old high school student revealed that she is beginning to send applications to colleges she is considering attending next fall. She is taking the finances of each school into consideration and has been planning ahead for a long time.
“I have a spreadsheet with information on them, including costs of tuition and COL (Cost of Living) for students there,” the girl wrote. “I have functions on the sheet that show how well I'd be able to afford it using my college savings account that my parents have and my own general savings.”
However after she presented her parents with the spreadsheet, they informed her that she would have to split all of her college savings with her baby brother, who is just one-and-a-half years old.
“I was pretty shocked by this since they have 16+ years to save up for his college if that's something he'll even want to do,” the girl admitted. “I ran the numbers with half the savings and it's not looking good. I want to graduate with as little debt as possible and taking away half is pretty damaging to that.”
The girl attempted to reason with her parents and explain why she did not want to split half of her college fund with her one-and-a-half-year-old brother. However, they firmly stood by their decision.
Photo: ITTIGallery / Shutterstock
“My dad said it's their money so it's up to them how they get to spend it and I'm not entitled to it, which I understand,” the girl wrote. “They said they're hoping to retire early so they have more time with my brother.”
The girl’s father suggested that she start putting aside money from her paycheck to go toward her college fund. However, even by doing that during her remaining time in high school, she claims it will not be nearly enough to cover the costs of her education.
The girl asked others if she is being unreasonable for not wanting to split the college fund that was originally intended for her with her baby brother. “I still don't think it's fair to lose a good amount of my college funding 15 months away from starting to someone who won't use it for over 15 years,” she wrote.
The girl's parents are entitled to her college fund because it's their money, but it's still unfair for them to suddenly change their intentions so close to her college departure.
Many people sided with the teen girl, saying it was not a good look for them to "suddenly take away the funding they had promised you all along. You made plans based on this promise,” as one user put it.
However, others were quick to side with the parents, with another commenter adding, “Sadly your parents are right in this it's their money. They get to do what they want with it. That's the truth… But it is also okay to be sad and hurt by this. Your parents did not set this up well.”
Others suggested that the girl apply for scholarships and take out student loans to pay off her college debts.
But even if the girl’s parents do get make their own plans regarding her college fund money, the teen girl does raise a significant point: What if by the time her brother is her age, he does not want to go to college? And it's a completely valid point to bring up.
College enrollment rates have been dropping over the years, with American high school graduate college enrollment rates declining from 66.2 to 62.7% between 2019 and 2020. Additionally, 54% of undergraduate college students wind up dropping out before they graduate.
Who's to say that the rates won’t decrease further down the road and the girl’s brother decides to take his future elsewhere? After all, going to college isn't the end-all be-all many people make it out to be. With other options like trade schools, joining the military, or taking an apprenticeship, the possibilities are endless.
While a college education is clearly important to the girl, it may not be a goal in everyone’s life and that is okay. Money in a savings account can go toward other opportunities such as trade scholar traveling.
Hopefully, this teenager ends up going to the college of her choice without having too much financial debt. And perhaps her parents may change their minds down the road.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.