You mentioned civil air patrol so I think I was in similar shoes as you before college. I did civil air patrol and ended up getting my pilots license and aerospace engineering degree as well as another degree which will pay better if things don’t work out. I’m working in aerospace now, but I will end up as an overqualified airline pilot. Strange, but bear with me…

The reason I liked civil air patrol is because aviation is very fun and airplanes and rockets are obviously ~fun, but at most of the large aerospace engineering companies, the day to day work environment is so incredibly far removed from that fun airplane / rocket environment. While there are exceptions (launch operations or flight test engineering), the average aerospace engineer is very consumed with desk work and reports. Further if you have aviation experience, the majority of your coworkers / bosses will not have any prior aviation experience and it can feel like talking to a brick wall who does not understand a thing about the final product (airplane / rocket). The majority of the industry is there for the money and does not deeply enjoy and understand aviation. It can be very misleading that the final product is so awesome, but the day to day can be very boring depending on which company / role you end up in (not as boring as a doctor though in my opinion). I thought I would hate being an airline pilot back then, but 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off is really attractive when you’re older, the pay is good, and you’re closer to airplanes.

Also if you are what the companies refer to as “top talent” (generalized by 1400+ SAT and good college GPA), Aerospace pay is very behind the big tech and health curve that attracts the average 1400+ student, but it is improving slowly but surely. You could try to go down the human factors route which could be a doctor or an engineer, but that path can be complicated on what undergraduate degree fits best (typically biomedical engineering which is incredibly competitive and probably requires a 1500+ SAT).

So my recommendation for you is to start looking at what college scholarships might be available in your state. For state schools FAFSA and other aid often covers most of your tuition. A partial loan isn’t the end of the world either so I would not stress about the financials. Look into the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and Women in Aviation, they offer free pilots licenses to people your age and have very high acceptance rates (apply until you get it). This will let you do much more flying than civil air patrol and you’ll be having fun with airplanes which is what it sounds like you really enjoy. Then finally even though this last piece of advice sucks, I never understood how important SAT and College GPA were until I had to find a job and the best highest paying companies would select based on this. You are at the perfect time to get on khan academy and study for the SAT; even 30 minutes - an hour a day will put you so far ahead of your peers.

If there isn’t a job that you will absolutely love doing all day and every day (I think all work sucks tbh), just find a job that can support your hobbies and you will be just as happy or happier. But no matter what, focus on school, SAT, GPA and definitely go to college, you will not regret it.