Teenage Rebellion - Help a Guy (17M) Out

TL;DR - I (17M) have a fundamentalist mother and a father who, although not as fundamental, goes along with whatever restrictions she puts on me. I’m going to go insane in this household, and would like some advice towards college. What are some colleges that give good merit scholarships for out of state students? Preferably those that have a pre-med program? Also, how do I explain to them that I don’t want to leave because I want space from them, even though it’s the truth XD

Okay, so my mother is a diehard fundamentalist with pride issues who also believes in conspiracy theories (antivaxxer, believes the gov’t can control the weather, believes in chem trails, believes we’re being poisoned, thinks we never landed on the moon, etc). She’s always right, and any deviation from her stances is considered rebellion/wrong.

Also, I can’t do anything unless it’s with family, church, or academic related. For example, no movie theaters, no hanging out with friends, no dances (I actually just got nominated for Senior Duke for HoCo but I had to turn it down because obviously I can’t attend, that sucked), no to most music, no to most forms of entertainment (I.e. nothing magical or “super” allowed), she’d never let me date. Also I’m not supposed to have social media but I have it anyway, if she wants to isolate me from my friends (which she said I shouldn’t have any at school, because they are “of the world”) then I’m going to have some connection. I have no friends at church.

Also, I’ve become kind of depressed (?) over the past year, and thoughts of suicide cross my mind multiple times a day. Not necessarily that serious, but all the pressure, stress, guilt, and self hatred would leave if I just did it. I wouldn’t do it though, don’t worry. This may seem out of the blue but I have other stuff going on in my life as well to the whole separation thing.

I’m tired of it and I’m ready to leave this state for college. I have pretty good stats if I’m being honest, I’ll list them generally so I can’t be found (sounds dumb but I worry that if I post the specifics, someone would notice me): 30+ on ACT, 4.5+ GPA, in top 20 ranking in school, I attend a top 100 school in the nation (US) for academics, I have good extracurriculars, a lot of service hours, and good letters of rec, and I’ve passed all my AP tests.

I know of a local university that would 100% give me a full ride, but that’s local and I’m leaving this state (I’m in the south). Do you have any suggestions of some universities that would give me a lot of merit scholarships? I may not have my mother’s support if I leave, and if I do get financial support it won’t be much (we’re not financially struggling/anywhere close to poor, it’s just that she wouldn’t pay much). Also, I want to be a surgeon so if it has a premed program, that would be awesome!

Thanks for the advice. Also, this “rebellion” I’m entering is just me asking for a normal life. No drugs or becoming a partier, I just would like to hang out with friends sometimes and not have to hear about how much the government wants to kill me every 10 seconds.

P.S. I know I can look up universities (which I am, of course) but I know I’ll look over some possibly great opportunities, so any suggestions help.

Submitted September 30, 2019 at 12:16AM

TL;DR - I (17M) have a fundamentalist mother and a father who, although not as fundamental, goes along with whatever restrictions she puts on me. I’m going to go insane in this household, and would like some advice towards college. What are some colleges that give good merit scholarships for out of state students? Preferably those that have a pre-med program? Also, how do I explain to them that I don’t want to leave because I want space from them, even though it’s the truth XDOkay, so my mother is a diehard fundamentalist with pride issues who also believes in conspiracy theories (antivaxxer, believes the gov’t can control the weather, believes in chem trails, believes we’re being poisoned, thinks we never landed on the moon, etc). She’s always right, and any deviation from her stances is considered rebellion/wrong.Also, I can’t do anything unless it’s with family, church, or academic related. For example, no movie theaters, no hanging out with friends, no dances (I actually just got nominated for Senior Duke for HoCo but I had to turn it down because obviously I can’t attend, that sucked), no to most music, no to most forms of entertainment (I.e. nothing magical or “super” allowed), she’d never let me date. Also I’m not supposed to have social media but I have it anyway, if she wants to isolate me from my friends (which she said I shouldn’t have any at school, because they are “of the world”) then I’m going to have some connection. I have no friends at church.Also, I’ve become kind of depressed (?) over the past year, and thoughts of suicide cross my mind multiple times a day. Not necessarily that serious, but all the pressure, stress, guilt, and self hatred would leave if I just did it. I wouldn’t do it though, don’t worry. This may seem out of the blue but I have other stuff going on in my life as well to the whole separation thing.I’m tired of it and I’m ready to leave this state for college. I have pretty good stats if I’m being honest, I’ll list them generally so I can’t be found (sounds dumb but I worry that if I post the specifics, someone would notice me): 30+ on ACT, 4.5+ GPA, in top 20 ranking in school, I attend a top 100 school in the nation (US) for academics, I have good extracurriculars, a lot of service hours, and good letters of rec, and I’ve passed all my AP tests.I know of a local university that would 100% give me a full ride, but that’s local and I’m leaving this state (I’m in the south). Do you have any suggestions of some universities that would give me a lot of merit scholarships? I may not have my mother’s support if I leave, and if I do get financial support it won’t be much (we’re not financially struggling/anywhere close to poor, it’s just that she wouldn’t pay much). Also, I want to be a surgeon so if it has a premed program, that would be awesome!Thanks for the advice. Also, this “rebellion” I’m entering is just me asking for a normal life. No drugs or becoming a partier, I just would like to hang out with friends sometimes and not have to hear about how much the government wants to kill me every 10 seconds.P.S. I know I can look up universities (which I am, of course) but I know I’ll look over some possibly great opportunities, so any suggestions help.