College

See a career counselor. Take some vocational aptitude tests. Find out what YOU want to do and what will make YOU happy, and then shop around for appropriate colleges.

You need to find a college that suits your needs.
It's your education, not your parents'.

Consider what programs a college offers, its size, location (rural,
suburban, urban), and reputation (as distinguished from "prestige").

Explain to your parents what you are looking for in a college and why.
Ask for their advice and listen to it, but the decision should be yours.

Good luck!

Posted at almost the same time as Cinnesthesia,
so repeated some of her ideas.

My brother holds three masters degrees and was offered a fellowship at Harvard -- that he turned down!

He's a Colonel in the Army with his first review for General coming up this summer.

I'm a semi-retired photographer and stay at home proxy-mom who spent my day cleaning up dog vomit.

You want to talk impossible standards sister? I'm you're girl.

But the thing about it is, when I talk to my brother he says "you absolutely amaze me" and when I talk to my mom she says "I'm so proud of you".

In a family, well, okay, most families, it is how you live your life and what you do with your life that matters more than what grades you got and where you go to college.

Jelousy can stall your life. It can make you bitter. Don't fall into that trap. Even if your parents start in with the "well Brother blahblahblah" you must follow your own path.

I was born at a time when flag officers could enter their godsons in the Naval Academy at birth (the bad old days!). When I was old enough to comprehend that my godfather, an admiral, had done this for me, I was unhappy. First, although my family was filled with naval officers, I had no interest in being one. And, I felt that this privileged, expedited entry to the Academy (long ago discontinued) was all wrong. When I reached my mid-teens, and my godfather started talking Annapolis, I told him that I was very grateful (a lie, but a reasonable one) for what he had done for me at the Naval Academy, but that, truthfully, the Navy could do a hell of a lot better than me and that, even if I were able to go, I thought someone else should be in my place. Uncle Frank thanked me for my honesty--and the subject never came up again, with him or with my parents. And we all continued to get along really well.

The point of this story is that, more often than we might believe, our parents have much more reasonable expectations for us than we think. Therefore, don't hang back from telling your parents what YOU really want to do. They may very well support you all the way, because they want you to be happy and to learn something you can fully use.

Also, please don't become hung up on measuring colleges against one another by "brand name." If your interests take you to an obscure college, and this college has what you really need, it's the right college for you. On the other hand, don't sell yourself short, because you might feel that you are standing in the shadow of a high-achieving brother; go for the strongest college that offers what you want, because academically strong schools tend to offer good courses in all areas--and you might change your mind about a major. I did--five times! And I was grateful to be in a college where this was possible.

So, please figure out what YOU want. Talk with your parents about it. Then, aim high. Good luck to you!

Agree with everyone here, so far. Make your decision about college based on what you want. Your success will make your parents more happy than any choice of school will. More than likely, they are simply excited for your brother right now and aren't paying full attention to your college quest, so don't take their underwhelming reactions as a judgment on your choices.

Your parents are understandably proud of your brother.

That does not necessarily mean they want you to be his clone.

Did I understand correctly that your brother is a college freshman who was accepted into the Naval Academy? Was this his first or second application?

One of the things that high school guidance staff have been trained to do is talk to parents with unrealistic expectations about their children's college choices.

Do your parents play favorites as a general rule?