Dear Miss Emily:

All right here's the deal. I graduated early from high school in order to go to college. I'm a teenager looking for a bit of an adventure, and a really good education because I would like to go to medical school. I picked this phenomenal school which I was really excited about, but now its turning out to be less exciting. It's out of state and the tuition is really expensive (about $42,000) and I got a $13,000 dollar scholarship to help pay for it. It still leaves the remainder incredibly high. I thought I would just take out student loans and such, but I'm afraid of all the debt. I also love the current state that I'm in, so should I try to cancel the loans and go local, or continue to this dream college that I'm feeling more and more apprehensive about it by the minute? I wouldn't have even thought twice about it if my dad wasn't getting more and more mad about the money. It makes me feel guilty, and I'm so tired of constantly hearing about it. It's also not helping that I fell in love with a boy this summer and things are broken off now because I'm leaving. I know that I'm only 17, and this should be the last of my worries, but all of this is overwhelming. I feel like I've worked so hard to have this all to feel like it's crashing down now.

------------------------------Miss Emily's advice--------------------------

I hear you! The cost of college is absurd in the U.S. And if you're looking at medical school, plan on debt being anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000. Your father's complaints may be valid, but it sure is laying a guilt trip on you. But this is why I think maybe you should try your dream college: you've come this far; you got accepted; you have some money toward it;  loans for the rest are feasible; and you'll never really know if you made the right choice until you see for yourself. You did make a good case for staying home: you love your state; the cost; and let's not underplay the importance you feel concerning the boyfriend you had to kiss goodbye. Love is a powerful force in our lives. But please do not throw this chance away unless you are completely comfortable with it. Were you not to be happy at the local college, it would be a bitter pill knowing you let your dream slip away. You're seventeen, and I can understand the trepidation of leaving home based on that alone. You are facing the unknown, and it's scary. But it can broaden your horizons in ways you never thought possible, as well. If you did not like the dream school, there is nothing that makes you duty-bound to stay. Well, that's my opinion, for what it's worth. After reading this, you may make your decision -- not necessarily in taking my advice, but because you are vehemently opposed to it.