First of all, I'm new to this forum and forums in general, so my apologies if I do something wrong.
So, I'm 16 years old living in DFW, TX. I've been aspiring to be a pilot for a LONG time. At the moment I have a basic plan to achieve my goal but money is an issue so I've been digging deeper to find ways to cut out some costs. So I come to this forum for ideas that would eleviate the financial stress and comments on my current ideas. So, first my basic plan.
At the moment, I'm a junior in high school. I do normal high school classes the first half of the day, and the second half i drive to a nearby airport and take aircraft mechanics classes from my local community college. My current plan has me doing well in high school (my goal is 3.75+ GPA and 2000+ SAT/30+ ACT which is reasonable for me) and graduating while continuing my aircraft mechanic courses. After graduation, I'd spend at most my first year finishing the mechanics classes and getting my A&P license. This could be used as a back-up career if things dont pan out, and as a plus for getting a job as a pilot. After finishing that, I'd "transfer" to a 4-year university with a professional pilot program to get all my licenses to fly. I'd hopefully recieve a decent amount of scholarships and the rest would be financed by loans. Then building hours and one day flying for a major airline. Now this is where it gets tricky. I've always wanted to live in England. In an ideal world, I'd be flying for BA. I also have dual citizenship with Spain and US of course. Spain, being part of the EU, would (hopefully) grant me normal tuition at schools in England. The international tuition rates would still be seemingly cheaper. This isnt confirmed. Ive looked but the laws are confusing to be honest. So, ive looked at universities in England that offer flight training and have information on what would be needed as an international student (University of Leeds, University of Salford) and the price of attending would seemingly be cheaper than going to a university in the US. Doing my training in England would grant me the licenses needed to fly for a British airline and be able to live in England. But that would also make my A&P License practically useless but still something good to have on a resume to get ahead of other candidates who dont have that type of aircraft knowledge. But im getting ahead of myself. Wherever i would go would almost entirely be based upon the cost and what would be cheaper. So, ultimately, im asking what do you think the best course of action would be. You can go along my plan or completely change the course if it would benefit me. Any opinions whatsoever would be greatly appriciatied. The more information the better. Thanks in advance!