Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm going to answer your concerns first, then ask a couple of questions.
Money doesn't have to be an obstacle, unless you want it to be. Apply for grants, loans, scholarships, and work your tail off. You can make college work for you.
How was your ACT/SAT score? A good test score can really do a lot for you. I would know, my GPA in high school was a whopping 2.2, but my 32 ACT grade sorta wiped that out. And, if you get a low score on the test, you can retake it, and that almost always improves your score.

Also, if you go to a small two year school, and work hard, and get better grades than high school, that will be taken favorably, as they will see that you're willing to put in the effort. Just don't slack off, and take it as seriously as you can, even if you're only taking fun classes (a great way to get that GPA up!)Screw them! My parents didn't think I could handle marriage, and look at me, two days and counting, boo-ya!

Seriously, parents don't know everything. I'm not saying completely discount them, but this is a decision that can impact the rest of your life. Don't let a negative attitude from someone else mess up your life. Remember, you are the one in charge here. You are the one who can do this, and if you really want this, you need to take charge of your life.This is a bit harder. I'm starting to find myself with crowd anxiety too. Figure out why you're so freaked out, and find out ways to calm yourself down. If it's feeling crowded, stand in the way back, or off to the sides, maybe in a sheltered corner. If it's the noise/stimuli, find a way to distract yourself from the other things around you, and focus on the sermon. Gameboys are wonderful things, lol. Or if you are artistically inclined, doodle. If you are getting worried about what other people think, try a soft prayer-chant for calm, or take pains to make sure there is nothing about you that could be criticized. Or, if you're like me, be as outrageous as possible. blaugh

Don't give up so quickly.

Are you sure that this is what you want, and not what other people expect? I thought for a long time that I wanted to go to BYU (a Mormon college) but then I went, and realized that it was one of the most miserable experiences of my life, not the least because I was questioning my blind faith at the time. But if this is what you want, and your parents are trying to convince you not to do it, then that is going to cause you insane amounts of stress.

Why do you want this? Christian schools come in all shapes and sizes. Some are just a nice school with a Christian atmosphere that also offers classes about Christianity, and holds prayer meetings (or whatever they're called in your faith). Some are schools that only teach what is approved by whichever church they are affiliated with. Which kind are you looking for, and which kind have you found? This may not be the same thing.

Have you a particular school in mind? Check out the campus, look around and the kind of place it is. Does it make you happy? Can you feel the presence of God there? If you are happy, don't let anything keep you from going.

Life is short, hon. Don't let people convince you to not be happy. You deserve that much.

*hugs*

Demi blew my answer out of the water on the first part! On scholarships: Apply for everything. start treating it like a part time job, just put in a BUNCH of time each week and fill out as many apps, write as many essays, etc, etc. Talk to your high school guidance conselor and they can start you with a list of local scholarships. Then hit online scholarship seach engines (like allscholar.com and scholarship.com) and apply MORE.

Seriously. Scholarships rock. Thanks to scholarships (well, and the whole valadictorian thing), I went to school one hundred percent FREE for my first two years (including books and transportation costs), and now I will start my bachelors unaffraid of student loans. smile ANd you can get a scholarship for anything...seriously. there are scholarships out there based on which hand you write with! Also, small drawing scholarship contests, etc....just search everywhere, and it's never too early to start!

Demi said it all pretty well. Sometimes I kind of wish I had decided to go to a christian college. State universities are nice and all... but they're not quite the same.

Depends on the college you go to. You really have to find one that works for you, not just any "Christian" college. Like I said, BYU was a miserable experience for me, and I ended up having panic attacks about once a week while I was there. On the other hand, a lot of people there seem not only happy, but sort of pathetically grateful to be there, like it was some kind of honor.

I'm going to a state college next yeat, because I don't like the way that religion and scholastics were blended there, but for you it might be exactly what you need.

Bottom line, don't go to "a college." Find a college that you can be comfortable at, and where you can get the education you need.

Ack, another text wall!

I wanted to go to Walla Walla for awhile...but aside from attending an out-of-state University for who knew how long on whos income unknown, I couldn't have survived on the Vegetarian Diet for more than a few weeks...I would have gone and hunted something just to get some meat, eventually.

Haha, Walla Walla was the college I was about to go to, either that or La Sierra. Small world. And if you think that's bad, for my senior year of high school, I was at boarding school, and within the first month, I got in trouble and got campus bound. VEGAN food. I got meat maybe once a month gonk .

Anyhow, for my situation, it's even easier for me to go to SDA schools. The government seems to like the idea of me staying in religious schools for some reason, and on top of that, my mom works for an SDA organization, so they would pay 70% of my tuition.

When it comes down to it... I think one of the main reasons I didn't go, was my girlfriend. The things I do for love...