<p>Your stats may be low for UPenn, but you got into Wharton and Stern (with scholarships) and Berkeley and BU (with scholarships) and sort-of Stanford. You’ve definitely got what it takes to succeed anywhere.</p>
<p>You’ve got great options. Give up on UCLA. </p>
<p>UPenn will be need-based aid, not merit aid, so if your family isn’t deemed by them to have need, you won’t get anything despite the merit aid you get at other schools. However, if UPenn deems you to have need, they will definitely provide great money.</p>
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You “risk” being unhappy anywhere, and you “risk” not finding a good job anywhere. Nothing is guaranteed. My son is far away, and we’ve always been exceptionally close (only child, home schooled, his best friend’s parents are our best friends, etc.). We miss him and he misses us. But he’s in a great school and getting wonderful opportunities. As much as it hurts a mommy to say this, you need to do what’s best for you in the long run, not hang out around home. Fly! Be free!</p>