(Read to the end :) I am a Recruiter with career advice too) First, congratulations for being so concerned with your future. Many folks think only day by day and do not plan ahead, so you are very mature for your age already. I see some comments I agree with here and some that I don't so I will tell you my experience and maybe you will find value. Like you, I came from a middle class or possibly lower middle class family that was spread thin, and I had great grades. Graduated from an advanced program in the top 3% of my state. Everyone told me that I should be going to a big university but there was no way to pay for it, no amount of wishing or scholarships would have made it happen. But I also wanted the "big university college life" experience. So I choose a relatively cheap state university and went there the 1st two years right out of high school. I saw other people having the "big college" experience but I was mostly too broke to participate. I worked 2 jobs and went to class and still partied and had fun living in a dorm, but I paid for half of my tuition and books and almost all of my expenses and I simply HAD to work to eat. At the end of my sophmore year, I got a chance for a great summer internship in another state. I took it and decided to stay in that state and go to a community college for a while to figure out what I wanted to do. The major I picked was not turning out like I wanted and I spent so much time and money on it, I was scared to change course. The community college experience was FANTASTIC and so affordable and offered me so much freedom and choice because the cost was so reasonable. I would highly recommend that you go to a Community College and save yourself time, money, grief, and still get a get education that will allow you to have the freedom to make choices. Don't box yourself in by tying yourself to debt at a big university for 4+ years. I am a Recruiter in a high demand field that hires folks with very favorable compensation, and I will tell you that WHERE you went to school matters for very very few fields. In 99% of the scenarios, it only matters that you completed ANY degree program (meaning, that you captured a 4 year degree from somewhere reputable but not necessarily Harvard or Yale for example) And it certainly doesn't matter that you started at a community college for the first 2 years. Stay AWAY from loading yourself down with debt. When you get out of school, and land your first job, and can afford things like a vacation or an extravagant night out on the town, while your friends with debt with be eating ramen noodles unfortunately. After my time at the out of state community college, I finished my degree at a state university, taking out a loan only for my senior year. I paid on it for a long long long time. TL; DR: Go to community college, get a four yr degree eventually, and try to avoid debt as much as possible