I feel somewhat qualified to answer this. I'm a sophomore at Winona State University, and I pay for school entirely on my own and do my own financial aid as well.
First, if you could give me an idea of what your grades/extracurricular activities/community service/sports type things are, it'd help a lot.
Second, if you want to go to a community college and then transfer, consider these things-
1. If you don't know what you want to do and where you want to go afterwards, it may take you even longer, because you if you don't know what you want to do, you can't take courses you know you'll need to transfer into a program, and if you don't know where you want to go, you can't know for sure how your credits will transfer.
2. Financial aid for transfer students SUCKS. I know, I am one. I transferred from Indiana University to Winona State because IU costs twice as much, but even though I rank in the top one percent of students at both schools, WSU wouldn't give me a dime in academic scholarships or grants- because I was a transfer and most of those types of scholarships are awarded to freshmen, and this is almost universally true due to the way federal and state aid is doled out to universities. So if you're relying on academic aid, DO NOT go the community college route.
3. Consider that if you go to a two year school and transfer, you will be transferring into a four year where you don't know anyone and probably don't have too many friends. This should not deter you if you can get a killer deal by transferring, but it is a consideration.
Third, your high school's guidance office should have counselors who can help you, especially with local scholarships. I got $3400 from local scholarships, and $2400 each year now, all because the guidance office for my high school had applications and help available for local programs. Check it out, competition is lower than on the big scholarships like on
Fastweb. Go there, and sign up, but don't rely on it. Also, beware anyone who wants to charge you to search for scholarships. That equals scam.
Fourth, on the military as a means of paying for college. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE NON-MATERIAL REASONS FOR JOINING THE MILITARY, DO NOT USE IT TO PAY FOR COLLEGE. It will be hell for you unless you want to do it in the first place, and it's not all about the college money. If you want to find out what your reasons are for joining, try ROTC. If you apply for and get a scholarship, which is competitive but not outrageously so, you have your entire freshman year to figure out whether or not it's for you. If you don't have a scholarship and take ROTC, you have two years to decide for Air Force, but you can take all the Army classes without contracting up through the senior classes. If you do contract with ROTC, they pay you every month, tax-free, so you don't have to work, and if you're frugal, that money will last. As a junior for me next year when I contract Army, it'll be almost $400 a month from ROTC. Additionally, I'm enlisting ROTC-SMP option in the National Guard, which means I have basic and infantry AIT this summer, get GI Bill and Guard pay until I contract ROTC. There's a lot more I could say about that, but I don't feel like typing pages and pages. IM me on AIM at skeanerudolph or MSN at
skeaneru4088@winona.edu if you want any help with ROTC, college, financial aid, or whatever, I'm pretty good with it.
Fifth, frankly, what school you go to doesn't make a difference in the long run. It gives you a slight edge in the short term, but in the long term, going to a halfway decent state school vs. going to Harvard doesn't really matter. Go to wherever you feel most comfortable.
EDIT: Fixed an embarassing spelling error.