Please read, Im really not sure what to do here.
I've got an awful family (without going into detail, I've had to go through every kind of abuse you can think of) and I want to get out of here as soon as possible.
I've told others about some of the abuse in the past, the Social Services have even come round, but its always the same. my family will all deny what happened and it doesn't do any good in the long run. Due to fear of their repercussions, I have not told anyone about the worst of the abuse (like I said, don't want to go into detail but it's f***ing sick and screwed-up.)
However, luckily my education is going quite well, and so I am applying to university early (I see it as an escape, but of course i have not told my parents that). I have looked at the entrance requirements, and Ive already got the right qualifications to get into some good universities, not exactly Oxbridge level but hardly thames valley either.
If I wait til going to university and then tell a counsellor all about the abuse, what are the chances they will be able to help me? could I break off contact with my family and refuse to go home again, considering I wouldnt turn 18 till halfway through my degree? How would doing that affect getting student finance?
Or should I wait till I finish university? -but I don't even want to go home for the holidays, and my parents are so volatile I wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly refused to fill in the student finance forms!