Syn, I exceeded my AIMS tests as well, and got awarded the scholarship. It is still in place, don't lose hope! It locks in at your first semester's tuition, which sucks because if you renew the scholarship the next year and tuition increases, you have to pay the balance remaining.
Your senior year you will get a letter from the colleges saying that you got the scholarship. If you keep doing well, they'll send you the next one up (or at least ASU will) it's called the Provost Scholarship (worth a bit more money). Lastly, if you graduate within the top 2% of your graduating class, you will get an even better scholarship called the President's Scholarship. I got all 3, but could only keep one, so of course I picked the best one. I get $9,000 each year, and after tuition, I get about $1,000 directly deposited into my back account.
It's awesome. Of course, that money goes towards buying books, which even used, runs me about $200-$400 per semester.
As far as PSAT's and SAT's go, if you're just going to your local community college or state university, they're a
waste of money. I never took the PSAT's, but I did take my SAT's twice and it turns out ASU doesn't even care. For how much they cost, and how long they are, I wish I could just go back and not take them. ASU does look at them, but you can still get accepted without them. Also, as a tip, colleges don't look at your writing score. They look at your combined Reading and Writing, and then your math. But, it honestly doesn't matter because in order to skip classes you must get a high score on your AP Exam (for English) and do well on their math placement tests (ASU one and the ALEKS test) or have dual credits from your high school that will transfer over.
Definitely fill out your FAFSA, you will get grant money for free based on your parent's income. My mother didn't fill out her part of it and I lost a ton of money since my parent's are near broke. Also, I graduated a year early which entitled me to a $2,000 early graduation grant, however, my mom didn't fill out her part of the FAFSA form and now they aren't offering it anymore due to the economic status. You can imagine how angry I was at her.
. It's nice to be able to say that. 
