You shouldn't totally give up yet. Just because she said that, doesn't mean you should stop where you're wanting to go. When it comes to college, there are really two roads, I guess: the first one is going wherever you want to go despite the costs, the distance, and anything else, but it's the school you want to go and the second one is going to a "safe" school. That's where you know the tuition would be a lot easier on you, it's probably closer to home, and it's easier to be accepted. A lot of students probably go through this. You should definitely apply to both and possibly a third choice, just in case. For my first choice in college, I didn't get accepted, but I told myself if I did, I would do despite not having enough money for it at all. I was accepted to my second choice, but wasn't willing to pay some of the costs, so in the end I went to my third choice with all of my tuition paid. I think that if you really, really want to get into your first choice, you're only thinking about going in. You're not really thinking about everything else. If you do get in, it's okay, I think you'll adapt. Thousands of students are moving away by themselves to another state or country to go where they want to go, even if they're moving away from their comfort zone. It's normal, and you will definitely get used to it.