<prompt> Human: Im a 17 year old junior preparing to apply for college and my parents have been very controlling on their grounds on paying. I feel like I will end up paying for it on my own. I would like to know the best options for me saving up money and how I will be able to pay for college and not have a ton of student debt afterwards. I have a 3.7 gpa and got a 30 on my act. I also have a job paying 7.45 an hour and I would like to know the best possible way for me to go about this situation?Edit: Thank you for all your comments! It has really helped me a lot. Also many people have asked how my parents are controlling. Well they have access to all my texts and read them often. They control when I stay home and where I can go. They are forcing me to look at colleges I have said I dont want to go to. Theyre very controlling in all aspects and I dont want to succumb to their control for 4 yearsAssistant: Go to community college for two years and transfer to an instate school. Apply for as many scholarships as possible.Controlling on their grounds on paying? What does that even mean?Human: They want me to go to a school of their choice and they want to control what I do in college and how I live me life and if I dont follow their rules then they wont pay  <response>: I went through this exact same thing when I was in college. This may not be a popular answer around here, but if how I live my life refers to partying or anything of that ilk, this is what I did: I negotiated on school choice, ended up going somewhere close-ish to home, but a fun school I wanted to go to also. Then I proceeded to live my life in college. Would my parents have been happy if they had known what I did on Friday and Saturday nights and sometimes Wednesdays and Thursdays too? No. Did I throw my lifestyle in their face? No. I got fantastic grades, graduated at the top of my class, got a job at the top of my field, and believe I wisely used the money my parents contributed to funding my college at least the bit scholarships didnt cover.The point is, this is not worth opening a rift between you and your parents. Its just not. Allow them to fund your college, and be gracious by making good on their investment by working hard, but grow up and live your life too. Just because you do that doesnt mean you have to tell them all about every aspect of your life. 