I had already looked into doing online courses with Prescott. They are available but not for freshmen. And even then I would need to attend orientation day on campus each year. Unless I can find a good "junior\community" college in which I can do lessons online, I am tempted to skip that step and just go with any scholarships and grants I can get. (And sign up for food assistance and such to decrease my financial load in other areas.)
Would starting off working toward one degree at first also be a good idea as far as money and available time goes? I would think that it would also be a good way to avoid getting into too much debt at once. I'm thinking about just going for the permaculture course first and then going for the degree in botany much later or vise versa.