Apply. Contact Financial Aid office.

Have the design sensibilities to back it up. Show some range.

It is true.  Most people do not get accepted to Character Animation on their first try.  (I would know...)   And yes, CalArts has a higher percentage of older students, less right-out-of-high-school students because they are usually looking for more maturity in the artwork and vision.  But that has less to do with age and more to do with the art.  If the talent is there- it's there.  They won't care how old you are. And a student who applies over and over and over again who IMPROVES has a much better chance of getting accepted rather than someone else who just stays the same.  (Again- I would know...)  They don't care if you apply until doomsday- but if you show some significant improvement, that's great!   No- the reviews are the same for all.  They are looking at your ART, not your age.

Call the Registrar's office and check the requirements. So many students go and take a bunch of classes at community college then get pissed off when they get here and some of them didn't transfer like they thought they would. Be safe, not sorry. But yes, take math, sciences, history, a computer class if you haven't already, ENGLISH!!! LOTS of English!

Yeah, Vincent and I are crashing with a mutual friend for about a month. Will tell him hi for you!