> > What happens if your parents have enough money so that you don't qualify for any need-based financial aid, yet they don't want to spend any money to send you to college? What would you do then???
>
> Well first, your parents don't owe you a college education. But you might encourage them a little by taking a summer job between high school and college.
>
> When I was in college, many moons ago, there were no student loans, no Pell grants, and I had not yet been in the military, so there was no GI bill money for me. My parents were broke. So I did the summer job thing and saved every cent. Then I started college and soon landed a part-time job.
> Nobody ever gave me anything, but I worked my way to a BS degree. The day I left college, I had no money and no debts.

I'm pretty sure you can't put yourself through a US college course these days with only a summer job, Howard. The basic idea is good though. Taylor, in addition to this and famous's very good advice, you might want to consider taking a year or two gap between high school and college, and working full time while you save enough to start your tuition. God knows it's not easy to find work these days, either, but it is one option. If your parents will permit you to live at home, either for free or for minimal rent, while you work for a year or two and save your money, it could be a solution which everyone will be happy with.

Starting college a few years older than everybody else will almost certainly have other advantages in terms of your maturity and self-discipline, especially if you've already been out in the "real world" with a job before then, so it shouldn't be seen as something which will hinder either your college study, or your future employment prospects.