<p>You are being abused. You have been dealt a lousy hand. It is a fact of life, a fact of your life. You have to be strong. You don’t have the options of your peers. Face it, deal with it. You are strong enough to make it anyway. You will overcome. Some people are born crippled, some people are born blind. You don’t have those handicaps, but you have an all too common handicap - parental abuse. I’m sorry. You are a winner though. </p>
<p>Stanford is not an option. The Ivy’s are not an option. You need financial independence and you have done well enough and are smart enough to earn it. </p>
<p>Continue to excel. </p>
<p>Save your money. Buy a Visa check card so that you control the application process. Hide it. You’ll need it to send out applications without your parents knowing. </p>
<p>Apply to the University of Pittsburgh, where you are likely to get a full ride based on merit. Apply to other schools like University of Alabama, University of Kentucky, University of Texas at Dallas. These are schools that offer full tuition scholarships. You need to borrow the money for room and board, and also work part-time and summers, but you can do it. </p>
<p>You need financial independence a whole lot more than you need Stanford. If you work hard enough, you will be as successful as you would have been at Stanford. Good luck. We’re here for you.</p>