Hi, As Tears Go By, welcome to PsychCentral (PC). It does sound like your family is a "mess", like many people here report theirs are. Can you look forward at all; being shipped off to college could be a good thing, you will be out in the world a bit where you might be able to get the help you want and get away from this family that is not helping you. I would study whatever you like, initial degrees are not of much use at university, unless they are in math or science pretty much. If those subjects are not ones you are good at or interested in at all then I would come up with another plan.

Check out these links: http://www.aaanet.org/resources/stud...throdegree.cfm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010...ers-philosophy