Get a skill or a valued trade.
You can go to a trade school, but stay away from the scam that is college. I went to school for audio engineering but make most of my bread in IT and never went to school for it.
LEARN HOW TO NETWORK, this is one of the most valuable life skills you could have, I've made a lot of extra money and gotten so many nice things based on the relationships i have built.
Got to capitol one and get a 300 dollar card, keep it under 30 percent usage, in 6 months times they will give you a 3,000 credit limit, keep that under 30 percent usage....so on and on ...
By the time you are about 23 you should have excellent credit and be able to get a loan for anything you could want at that age. Credit is important, gets you in better apartments, better cars, saves you money on interest.