Aunt offers to pay nephew’s tuition on 3 'impossible' conditions and the internet's saying it's too harsh

Family and friends usually wish the best for their loved ones, especially when someone is young and has a promising future. However, sometimes, in the process of doing so, they start expecting too much, leading to pressure or resentment. Similarly, a 29-year-old woman who eagerly wants her nephew to succeed laid down some conditions in order for him to receive her support. The well-to-do aunt–who goes by u/RoughThrowRA on Reddit–decided to back her high-schooler nephew, Jakee, with his college tuition, provided that he’d meet her expectations. In the post, the aunt claimed she was considering not paying for his education after he couldn’t fulfill what he promised to her.

It began when the child-free aunt was approached by her financially struggling sister to help her with her 18-year-old son Jake’s education. Before marrying into money a few years ago, the aunt had a very humble beginning. “My family wasn’t wealthy, but my husband’s side is; my husband owns a rather successful business, and we are very comfortable with a sizable bank account,” she claimed, adding that her 38-year-old sister, a single mom, often discussed with her about Jake’s future and how he wanted to be a doctor. “The issue is that my sister can’t afford to send him. She’s a single mom, and I totally understand the financial struggles she’s facing,” the aunt added.

“Knowing my sister’s situation, I told her that I’d be willing to help Jake with his college expenses, as long as he met a few conditions,” the aunt continued. She didn’t want to just hand over the money without some responsibility. Among her three conditions for the 18-year-old were: he would need to work part-time, i.e., 20 hours a week; he would need to complete 80 hours of community service each year; and he needed to maintain a grade average of 75 or higher. The aunt, who herself had volunteered at a food pantry in the past, argued that the conditions weren’t unreasonable.

“I made sure to explain this to Jake, my sister, and even my husband. I wanted to set expectations so that everyone was clear about the deal. My husband was automatically on board,” the aunt added, further explaining how the child-free couple did not have anybody else to look after. However, as the application deadline was approaching, it became clear that Jake hadn’t met these qualifications. According to the aunt, Jake’s GPA was under the cutoff at 72, he had only been working 10 hours a week, and he hadn’t completed any community service hours at all. “I’ve tried to talk to him about it multiple times, and he keeps promising to do better but hasn’t made any real changes,” she explained.

With the deadlines looming, the aunt told her sister that she wouldn’t be paying for Jake’s college education unless he fulfilled the conditions. “She’s furious with me and says I’m being too harsh and that I should just help him regardless of whether he meets the conditions,” the aunt concluded, inviting reactions from the online community. Showing their disagreement, u/Snackinpenguin remarked, “Consistently working 20 hours a week as a high school student is aggressive, especially if you expect him to keep his grades up.” “Your offer was generous, but 20 hours of work plus community service is a bit much on top of school. Maybe if the hours were slightly lower, he could have met them,” u/Choice_Mousse6488 suggested.