I totally get what you are going through. I am a 17 year old homeschooler, and there have been many people that have asked me what I am going to do about college. Since I have been working with my family on a homeschool project called Saturn Music & Entertainment for two years, I have been telling people that I am not applying for college, but rather going straight into work and learning business as I work. This has been a very hard concept for people to grasp.
I also agree with you when it comes to social circles. I have a few friends that are my age (they are mostly musicians), but many of my close friends have varying age ranges. I wish that more schools offered age diverse classrooms like homeschooling.
If more people realized that college degrees are not as relevant as they used to be, and that it is better to learn from first hand experience, I think we'd live in a very different world today.