<prompt> Human: Hi PF. Let me start by saying a bit about myself. I am a 17 year old high school senior who skipped my junior year of high school. I have maintained an effective 3.98 4.0 GPA throughout my 3 years in high school, and have participated in numerous extra-curricular activities BPA, FFA, LCYAC, TATU, ASB, sports and a few others. Ive worked at a local grocery store for the past 3 years I recently quit due to lack of time where I worked my way up to 10hr minimum wage is still 7.25 here Last year I started a computer business, repairingtroubleshooting anything involving computers and made decent money 20 for the first hour and 10 every hour after From these two jobs plus any other random money Ive accumulated over the years, I have around 8,000 saved in a checking account at a local credit union. For the past year or so, Ive entertained the idea that I would be taking a hiatus from college for a year to move to California with some friends that currently live there. My rent would be no more than 300. My insurance is paid for, and food estimates would be around 200 - 250 and other monthly bills adding up to a total of including rent roughly 700month. The friends I would be living with would most likely be able to land me a job at a local Costco anywhere from 13hr20hr to 15hr40hrworst casebest case I would hopefully be able to look at jobs in my field as well, possibly even taking an apprenticeship if available. This dream led me to completely disregard anything to do with college and skip applying to anyall scholarships and schools.Im currently in a place where I feel like Ive completely doomed myself to a life of mediocrity and homelessness, although Im sure that this isnt true. What is my best course of action from here? Is taking this year off completely screwing me out of any chance of offers from colleges and scholarships? Where should I go from here?Im also in the market for a new bank account, for reasons unnamed it would be terribly unwise for me to keep my money in an account that could be frozen or confiscated at any point in time. The problem that Im running into is that nobody will take a 17yr old as a primary on an account. I was trying to get better rates at the same time, but it seems like everything is either barred from me or completely crap. Even with a parent to become the primary, the options are still pretty crap. Any advice here is greatly appreciated. I would really like to start getting some certifications at the local community college while Im in California, or even possibly attempt a programming boot-camp, but I have absolutely no experience with either. Again, advice here is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for reading this, let alone replying. Any help is good help.  <response>: If you have the drive to start a small business at 17, I cannot fault you for having this mindset. A Friend of mine has a similar story and landed a 130k job 21 in IT. Everything is relative. For some, not going to college will lead them to a life of mediocrity, where others will skip the debt and use that time to develop skills and contacts. 