Want to become Aalim

Assalamualaikum,

My name is Muhammad and I am 16 years old. I live in North Carolina. When I completed 7th grade in public school, I asked my parents to put me in full-time hifz program and they agreed. I started hifz at 13 and finished at 15 الحمد لله. During that time I was doing homeschooling. Now I finished 10th grade while homeschooling and will be going into 11th grade starting this September. I want to become an Alim and do Iftaa after. My parents are saying no, I have to complete 11th and 12th grade in public school then go to college and get a degree. They are saying after I get a degree, then maybe I can join Alim Course. What I want to do is start Alim Course now and get a GED (High School Diploma) concurrently. Then finish Alim Course around 22 or 23 and finish Iftaa by 24 or 25. After that, I can get a degree if it is necessary. If I go to public school and college right now I will most likely get a degree at 22, and after Alim and Iftaa I will be over 30! Also if I go the school route, I might not be as enthusiastic about joining Alim Course then. I know having a degree might help in terms of having knowledge, but as an Alim or a Mufti I think you can teach Islam and be an Imam without a degree as many scholars are Alims and Muftis and have no secular degree. Where I live, many of the scholars here completed hifz and then went to Darul Uloom Zakariyya in SA whilst having a GED. Please tell me how I can persuade my parents. Today is the 14th of August, 2018, I only have less than month until public school opens. Coincidentally, Alim classes in New York start the same day public school opens. What I want to do is start next month (September) and complete I’daadiyah and 5 years of Alim Course in New York and then do Dora e Hadith and Iftaa in South Africa ان شاء الله. Please advise me what to do, as I really want to become Islamic scholar and please make dua my parents let me join Alim Course now in September. Please reply back whenever you have time.

جزاك اللهُ خيراً