There’s a fine line between supporting your kid’s education and dictating it.

When a college student tried to drop his computer science major to a minor after an unexpected visit to the ER, his mom refused every compromise.

So when his mother discovered he had gone his own way without telling her, she accused him of being a huge disappointment.

You’ll want to keep reading to see how this one ends.

AITA for lying to my parents about double majoring in college when they are paying my tuition

I am one month out from graduating with a major in Business and a minor in Computer Science.

My parents found out I have been lying about double-majoring in Business and Computer Science for almost a year.

His parents have taken a very intense interest in his choice of major.

Ever since I started college, my mom has had very rigid expectations about what I should major in and what career I should have postgrad, which has created a lot of conflict between us.

At first, I went along with it, taking both business and CS classes because I figured the headache of arguing wasn’t worth it, and it seemed possible at the time.

But life soon had other plans.

I had a medical emergency in my junior year that sent me to the ER and caused me to miss an exam.

I ended up withdrawing from that class, which was a CS requirement.

Instead of trying to claw his way back, he figured it was better to just pivot.

It was always going to be a tight squeeze to graduate on time, and this setback made it mathematically impossible for me to graduate on time, given the school’s per-semester credit limit.

In fact, now that I’m recalculating, I don’t think double majoring was ever possible in the first place, even if I played all my cards right from the second I stepped foot on campus, but I sadly wasn’t thinking that far when I first agreed to it.

Seeing no future where I could realistically finish a double major, plus the fact that my heart was never in CS to begin with, I had a conversation with my mom about turning CS into a minor instead and majoring only in business.

He clarifies where he stands.

For what it’s worth, this wasn’t me trying to take the easy way out. I had a 4.0 in all of my CS classes, but I still leaned more toward the business route and already had internships and now a job offer in this field.

However, she was not receptive to this at all and insisted that I go through with both majors.

His mother really makes it personal.

There were some heated arguments, which devolved into her saying how much of a waste of tuition I was, how I was an epic disappointment, how I was not living up to my potential, what have you.

In the end, she refused to accept a compromise where I turned CS into a minor.

Seeing no resolution, I ended up lying and telling her that I was majoring in both.

I kept the lie going for almost a year, making up CS classes that I was taking. I’ve always excelled in school, so they never really bothered to check until now.

Of course, his mother is furious.

My mom is beyond ticked and refuses to talk to me since she found out.

I feel bad about my choice to lie, and understand why she feels betrayed and angry.

I also admit that having my parents pay my tuition means that they have some say in my education.

But the other half feels he had no other choice.

But I also feel as though they didn’t leave me many good options.

AITA for lying about my major in college when my parents are paying my tuition, even though their demands were impossible to meet and they refused to compromise?

This kind of rigidity rarely leads to open and honest conversations.

What did Reddit have to say?

This user has thought a lot about their judgement.

It’s possible his mother’s expectations are just way too high.

There’s no “right” way to finish college.

This commenter questions just how valuable double majors really are in this day and age.

Just because she helped with tuition doesn’t give her an excuse to treat her child this way.

This mother needs to realize it’s her son’s college education, not hers.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a dad who is using the credit card companies own envelopes against them.