How can I tell my parents...

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I've got a really tricky situation. When I applied to college I got into most of the ones I applied for. I got a full scholarship to one of the very best universities in the nation. My parents dissuaded me from going there and even offered to pay to go to where I am going now even though I didn't get a full scholarship to it rather than have me go to the other place. They convinced me that it would be too hard at the other place which had a reputation as a real pressure cooker and that I would hate it there and that the place I am going now would be a better fit. One problem, after one year, I f*****g hate it here, I don't fit in, I can't get into the classes I want, I feel like the campus police have been stalking me ever since the VT shooting. I don't think I can go here for four years without having a complete meltdown. The problem is that my parents are completely convinced that this is the best place for me and they were even willing to pay more to send me here. How can I tell them this? They'll either have me locked up in an institution or they just won't listen.

Goat, what differentiates your current school from the one you wish to attend? Pros can cons of each, please. Perhaps we can do some brainstorming.

Does the full scholarship you got for the quality university still apply, i.e. would it be possible for you to transfer there without needing money from your parents? It might be true that that university has a reputation of being a "pressure cooker", but the question then is what kind of pressure cooker... social pressure or intellectual pressure? If it's the latter, you (Aspie, I presume) would likely have less trouble there than most people would have.

Why do you think the campus police are stalking you?

My parents might be right that this isn't the school for me, I mentioned it more to emphasize the point that my parents were very serious about the one I am going to now, they are very domineering. The scholarship had some conditions on it that I did not particularily like, it restricted my areas of study to an area where my high school teacher was very poor. It has a reputation for being very competitive and cutthroat with no social life and it is mainly a feeder school for some of the higher positions at certain corporations which give it a huge endowment. I'm not sure I want to go into the corporate world with AS. My interviewing skills or lack thereof will hurt me no matter what level of education I get. I'm not sure I even want to stay in school, my parents place a very high value on education and have tried to discourage me from becoming independent and getting a job because they think it will get in the way of my education. I think there's a limit to what I can get out of the education and that I need to get out and try to learn how to be independent but they have done their very best to stifle that and I think I will pay the price for that down the line.



I just get the feeling judging by the way they behave around me, it's hard to explain, although I'm sure they are watching me extra closely for some reason.