I believe this is my first post here, so I would like to say hello.
I am in a kinda sticky situation, and I would like to know what you guys think I should do. I first became interested in flying back in '07, when I downloaded MS Flight simulator as a kid, and was hooked. Since then I have flown over 3000 hours on the simulator. I have wanted to get my license since I was 12, when my uncle first took me for an intro flight. However, I have a problem.
I am currently 16, and a junior at one of the hardest high schools in America. I am enrolled in 6 college level classes - Physics is my only 'normal' high school class. Since I spend so much time studying, I don't have any time to get a job. Which leaves me without any source of income to actually start training. I have done a lot of research on this, and realize there are basically 3 ways to fund flight training - the military, scholarships, and a job. Since getting a job is out of the question as of right now, and joining the military is something I definitely do not want to do, I am left with relying on scholarships to fund my training. Even then, a majority of flight training scholarships are for students who have
already started training. It's hard for me to do so. For the ones that are for non-students (i.e. the Leroy W Homer Jr. Scholarship I will be applying to this October) favor those which are pursuing aviation as a career. I am not, as I am currently pursuing a career in Computer Science.
My idea right now is to get a summer job this summer, and just work as much as possible to fund as much training as I can. I already have $3,000 saved up since I was 12. So my question to all of you is, what would you do if you were me? I feel like if I do start training this summer, I may not have a chance to finish it before funds run out, since I'll have to quit my job when school starts. Senior year should be a little easier for me, so I will have time for flight training. I am not sure if I will have time for a job on top of it. That brings up another issue though - I really want to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology, which is stuck right by Hartsfield-Jackson Intl, and as a result there is no flight training around for miles. If I do complete my training as a high schooler, I don't know how often I will be able to practice in college. So I am kinda in a very sticky situation, and I would like to know what you guys think. I am not trying to come off as impatient, but honestly after 5 years it gets hard not to. It helps to talk about this though, I always enjoy a conversation with aviation enthusiasts.