Student Outraged As Cousin Gets Accepted To Dream College, Attempts To Take Her Place

"Perhaps this kid isn't as bright as he thinks."

Chelsi

• Published in Interesting
• May 21, 2024

The family drama started when an 18-year-old got accepted to her cousin's dream school while he didn't. He had been talking about attending this college since they were in middle school.

He had done all he could to match the requirements of the college and was certain he was a shoo-in. The rumor was OP's cousin freaked out when he received the rejection email.

Meanwhile, OP got in with a sizeable scholarship to boot. OP's aunt, uncle, and cousin started bombarding her with calls and messages when they heard of her acceptance to the college— they even dropped by her parent's house a couple of times.

When asked, OP told her cousin her extracurricular activities, which he once dismissed as a "waste of valuable study time," gave her application an edge. Her cousin repeatedly said it was unfair that OP would attend the college of his dreams when he couldn't.

Her grades weren't as high as his after all. OP snapped and yelled that she would probably drop out of school because she was not equipped to handle the schoolwork like he would.

OP had to turn her phone off at one point because of the deluge of calls and messages from her cousin and his parents. Once they realized OP wouldn't give up her spot for her cousin to take because she couldn't even if she wanted to, they tried to pressure her to go to a different school.

Her aunt and uncle said the school was not even that great if it couldn't recognize a smart and talented person like their son.

The day OP left for the semester, her cousin visited to warn her. He said they wouldn't be a family anymore if she went to that college.

Her cousin said he didn't want to be related to someone "who was willing to steal his dreams."

OP said okay and got in her car. While OP was acclimating to college life, her cousin was angst-posting on Instagram about false dreams and the pointlessness of hard work.

OP shared an update in the same post to answer a few questions that boggled the Redditors' minds.

OP said the drama wasn't fueled by good old-fashioned sexism. Her aunt and uncle were just obnoxious people; a trait they passed onto their son.

OP did not intend to post an update but had to because there was more drama when she went home for Thanksgiving.

OP found a Redditor's suggestion amusing and her college's hoodie to Thanksgiving dinner. Her cousin fumed secretly but all he said was it was tacky.

Her relatives congratulated OP on her acceptance and asked about her studies. Her aunt and uncle did everything to take the focus off of OP by talking about their son's merit for getting accepted at a prestigious school.

OP's cousin spoke in length about working for NASA and making a difference in the world while OP was stuck behind a camera.

To his dismay, OP did not take his bait. One of their uncles, who favored OP, expressed his pride that she chose a practical degree that could translate into a high-demand career in this digital age.

Their uncle's compliments angered OP's cousin further. He yelled at their uncle that she was not better than him. He said OP will never be as good as him.

You could hear a pin drop after his screams. Her cousin realized he had gone too far, said he had another thing to do, and rushed to his car.

OP's aunt and uncle tried to blame OP. They said she shouldn't have poked and prodded at him throughout the night, but their relatives didn't allow their deflection.

They asked why they thought a compliment about OP took something from their son. The family had an even better night when OP's aunt and uncle followed their son.

That family lives in an alternate reality where a university's admission committee would give a student's spot away to another upon request.

OP should disengage from the drama and graduate from her cousin's dream college.

It's not like OP took a spot reserved for her cousin. His rejection was not her fault.

OP handled the situation decently. If a college hoodie is all it takes for her cousin to rage at a relative, then the problem isn't just about college acceptance.

OP will soon be too busy to worry about her cousin's petty drama. He should have gone to therapy instead of trying to manipulate OP into screwing up her future to protect his ego.

Chelsi