Congrats on the username change. Heh, finally got those credits. That's insane.
Also, like your new user pic.

Yeah, it's actually a good thing that you're concentrating on college and careers now rather than waiting till last minute. It shows dilligence, intelligence, and understanding.
So many people I know have messed up severely and waited too long, putting things off till last minute, and not understanding the full effect college will have on their lives.
Those people all now work in post offices, restaurants, and convenience stores, waiting for opportunities to come ot them, as they already missed their chance to go after them.

As for paying for college, I'm right there with you. My parents can't afford to pay any of it, so I'll probably be having to pay it all myself.
And if I end up going to film school, I'm going to have to pay a fortune that I just don't have.

I also need to feel God's calling. I also feel I need to spend some years getting more "in tune" with him, growing closer to him and his desires.

I decided I'd take out several birds with a single stone, so I'm probably heading off to Columbia International University for my first two years.

The college is incredibly Christian, really based in Biblical education. I know some kids want to "get out and explore on their own", as they say, and come to their own conclusions after being in Christian families, churches, and schools their entire child hood. I originally thought like this. Then I realized this kind of reasoning wasn't "reasoning" at all, but just an excuse. As is natural to my human nature, I wanted to first break off from authority. Secondly, I subconsciously wanted to dance on the edge of the "line" between right and wrong as much as possible without anyone keeping me in check.
As I've grown closer to God (especially over this last six months), I've realized this is all wrong.
If anything, I should be immersing myself more deeply in God before I'm forced to face the world.

I plan to go and get my first two years of credit out of the way there (and build my relationship with God and get some direction) then hopefully head off to some place like Penn State to get my bachelors in one of the many fields I'm considering. Then possibly film school after.

I'm not really sure, so I'm awaiting on the calling of the Lord.

Hope you get some direction where you want to go. Hope I don't sound like I'm offering unwanted advice here. Just thought I'd kinda share that most of us are feeling confusion over the issues.

Hope it goes well!

I got through college quite speedily and graduated a year early. So I've been in your same boat not too long ago.

Don't freak out. Really. Sure there's tons of administrative-y stuff to deal with beforehand. Paperwork, scholarships, loans. But don't worry about the content of college.

You'll find that people are awesome and it's an excellent experience. With college, you test out the stuff you like, and if you hate it, then you can transfer classes really easily. You don't have to settle on something you want to do right away, plus, you'll have gen eds - a core curriculum - to knock out before you decide on what you want anyway. College work is balanced, you don't have an everyday schedule the way high school is. It's a couple of hours some of the days of the week depending on what classes you choose (any class can be one day a week to 4 days a week), and it's generally manageable. Seriously. You won't hate it. It's a blast.

Good luck!