^^^What @aquapt said. Except of course, if you go to USC, I can help you through that and give you insider tips. 
I know zippo about Swarthmore so will defer to others there.
Gotta go to Eleanor Roosevelt on this one:
âNo one can make you feel inferior without your consent.â
Even your family. Show them wrong wherever you go. Hugs and wish you peace in your decision!
UGH - Iâm so sorry for the undue stress and unkindnesses that you are being shown.
Please know that we are all in your corner rooting for you and have total faith in your ability to knock it out of the park wherever you go.
(And tell that unkind relative where he/she can get off!)
You rocked this!!
âŠ
@CADREAMIN Iâm so sorry, I should have spelled it out better. I really like USC and their aid was incredible, but I felt that I fit better at Swarthmore. I do know that there are thousands who would literally or figuratively kill to be in my situation, but I do feel that I made the right choice for me.
Again, Iâm sorry itâs been so rough. I hope the family stuff is going to settle down now that the decision is made, even if itâs not the one they wanted. There is zero doubt in my mind that you are going to ROCK IT at Swarthmore!! Honestly, if there hadnât been all this conflict and questioning of your worthiness, I would have felt totally fine about your deciding to go to USC. But after all this, I truly feel glad that youâre going to prove to yourself and everyone else that you deserve Swatâs confidence in you.
You never told us how your financial aid package was from USC. Was it a wash, financially, or was Swatâs package better? (I donât see how UCS could have topped what Swat gave youâŠ)
It seems like âcongratulationsâ is a tone-deaf thing to say right now, but seriously, you deserve huge congratulations and you deserve to be able to celebrate this decision. (Even if it was the Universeâs decision, lol!) You worked incredibly hard for this. You made this happen. Never, ever let anybody imply that basic disability accommodations diminish that in any way. Sorry, but thatâs a big load of⊠which words am I allowed to use on CC? You know. Well, I will step away from that one because you donât need me getting ragey. But you are going to kill it at Swarthmore. Be proud, because you 100% earned this opportunity.
Oh plot twist! I didnât see that coming. But if @aquapt endorses that one, I do too!!!
Do I not know how to read??? I just didnât see thatâŠI did delete my post above so I didnât confuse eveyrone else! I think I read through the line that you were excited for the next chapter at Swarthmore. Duh on me.
So you are doing what you want to do - rock on!
Swarthmoreâs financial aid package was significantly better than USCâs. USC gave me their best financial aid package, but I would still have to pay $10,000 per year. But after I received $60,000 worth of scholarship money from external programs, I didnât have to take finances into consideration for any of the schools. I do realize how fortunate that cost is not a factor, because I do know people who will go into debt.
I think getting away is a very good thing. Congrats again.
So⊠I assume Swat will âabsorbâ the outside scholarship $$ so that just your full Cost Of Attendance is paid?
Let me suggest that you be sure to talk with them about adjusting your COA to cover any extras you might need, whether for disability-accommodation reasons (like, for example, you might need a laptop with additional capabilities, or a big desktop monitor to go with it, or something?) or for any other reason. Make sure that is optimized so that you get absolutely EVERYTHING rolled in that you need, and get the full benefit of your more-than-full-ride!
Cheers to you - this really is an awesome outcome. Wish youâd been able to enjoy the decision process more, but hopefully making up for that starts now!
Congratulations! Based on everything you did Swarthmore is the best fit for you. Iâm sorry you had to go through so much turmoil in the past few weeks but you made the right decision for you. You also showed that you know yourself and are able to convince others that you do. Swarthmore is lucky to have you.
Enjoy!
@Kelvin82 Hugs to you! Youâve had a very difficult time on the run up to DDay. More hugs and big big congratulations on your final decision! <:-P I was watching quietly from the sidelines and am happy to find out your news about Swarthmore!
Yay! Swat is lucky to get you. You totally made the right choice, IMO.
Donât worry about grade deflation. Grad schools know the relative rigor of different colleges and factor that it.
I definitely think youâll find your people more at Swat and itâll be a more nurturing and personalized experience for you.
Yay Swarthmore! Love that school! CongrtusltionsCongratulations, and thanks for letting us help you! Go forth and thrive!
Swarthmore is my secret favorite of all the schools my high school junior kid is considering, so I am happy to see external validation of this as the right choice. I love the place, I hope it does well by you. Come back and let us know how itâs going for you, will you? The Swarthmore board on CC is a bit dead.
Iâm excited for you @Kelvin82 !! And your family is probably just a little scared and sad to see you go to school far away. I know I experienced some of that as a parent but Iâm not sorry and I think your family members will come around if they havenât already.
What a long and tough process for you - and such a happy ending!
I think you could thrive at either USC or SwarthmoreâŠbut I am glad you chose Swarthmore. It does have not only generous fin aid but many supports along the way which will make it smooth for you financially. So happy for you, Kelvin.
Congrats! Just want you to know Swarthmore doesnât presently have grade deflation. Median GPAs are actually some of the highest in the country. The work is hard, yes, but the professors donât arbitrarily limit the amount of excellence they can recognize. The first semester is P/F to help you get adjusted to the rigor. Donât worry about it! Look forward to the great things awaiting you in the coming years 
Source here: http://www.gradeinflation.com/Swarthmore.html ; you can compare against other schools at the bottom of this: http://www.gradeinflation.com/
@nostalgicwisdom thanks for the link! Also, thank you for your post about considering matching the QB liberal arts colleges. I remember reading it in the beginning of my sophomore year and initially brushing them off completely because I hadnât heard of them before. After reading more of your posts, my assumptions changed.
Although I do still struggle with the fact that people in my community do not know about Swat and many wonderful LACs on the East Coast and Midwest, Iâve been telling myself that those who matter do know.
Thank you for doing what you do, and for still posting on CC.
@Kelvin82 I hope you have a wonderful summer and are looking forward to a new beginning at Swat! What a different life it will be for you there and such an adventure you have ahead of you! I admire all that you gave to the process and how you were willing to look well beyond what was expected of you. I think you surprised and impressed all of us throughout your time from that first post to now.
I know you will get very busy, but I do hope you will come back now and then and let us know how things are going for you. Best to you!
@Kelvin82 : how is it going?