Please accept my sympathy for the loss of your mother. In your shoes, I actually think you might be best off going to Texas. If your goal is to transfer after a year, I think going to CC for a year, doing great, and giving yourself time to grieve with some family in the area is a good option. I actually think focusing on prestige at this point should be a low priority. I attended CC and transferred into a four year college. Where you get your degree from is not as important as what oppotunties you make for yourself. And there are some prestigious colleges that make a point of accepting kids from CC. I know Brown is one of them.