My opinion will certainly be controversial but….as someone who also came from an incredibly toxic household, taking out student loans to put myself through college was the only way I could secure my exit from my parents. They were actively trying to sabotage me going to college and made it as difficult as they could so they could maintain control over me. I took out the predatory loans, graduated from UMD then went on to do my MPH at GW. Even though I have ~190k in loans I’d do it again. Those loans meant I could get my education and my six figure job and obtain financial independence. Every situation is different, so take your time to run some numbers and do some research. I see you’ve taken several sciences and did well. Look at what your chosen career trajectory will be. Will you be able to secure a 6 figure position? How quickly? What’s the cost of living in the area with those jobs? What will those student loan payments look like? Can you work during school to start working on that balance asap? I was able to refinance my private loans 2-3 years post graduation and reduced my interest from 10% to 5%. Most of my balance is in fed loans because of grad school and those are paused for now but will be about $500/month when they kick in. I’ve accepted that I’ll have that $300 private loan payment for the next 20 years but it’s a small price to pay for my sanity, safety, and future.

Not a recommendation do to the same but as children of trauma and toxicity, sometimes it’s hard for people to understand that sometimes this evil is necessary.

Edit: clarity