I don’t mean to sound nasty, but I think someone needs to be a little blunt: you kinda need to chill out, bro.
And I say this with complete honesty, because for a long time I was in the same place you are, zealous and impatient and dying to receive the habit.
You’re 17; your zeal is to be applauded. But I’ve learned something in the three years I’ve been discerning - at 21 I’m a totally different person than I was at 18 when I first contacted the Jesuits. Through the period of my discernment I’ve matured so much, growing spiritually and as a person, in ways I couldn’t imagine when I was still in high school. My priorities are different, my interests are different - I was legally an adult when I graduated, but I was still a kid emotionally. I was impatient and impulsive, as most teenagers are (where do you think the teen reputation comes from?). As I’ve matured, discerned, furthered my education, and been accepted into the diocesan seminary, I’ve really mellowed out, and come to understand the importance of patience. No offense meant, but even though you are nearing adulthood and filled with zeal for the Lord, you are still a child in many ways. I say this from experience, and please take seriously this advice from someone who is very close to your age and not long ago was in your position.
A good missionary bishop saw my zeal and said: “Never rush into it; never feel rushed into the vocation; take it slow and find the right path in time.” It’s called “discernment” for a reason. Right now you have all the indications of a possible call to the priesthood, at least to the seminary; I had the same indications. You have to take it slow; don’t be desperate!!! I can’t stress this enough. God has called you, and He’ll make it work in His time. It is good that you’re investigating all these orders and seminaries - but the fact that some think you’re too young is a strong indication of the path you should take. Take this time to grow closer to the Lord, to ask Him to bring you to the right place - and above all, be patient!
I can’t stress enough the need for patience. Don’t rush into this! It never hurt anyone to wait a year or two (or even longer) to begin formal study for their ministry. If you can’t find a place to accept you yet, don’t worry about it; form yourself in the Lord through spiritual direction, and start college or get some work experience. Realize your need for maturity and growth as a person, because the person you will grow into is the person who will live out this potential vocation. Don’t forget the long periods of preparation undergone by the saints and even Our Lord. Jesus didn’t begin His ministry until He was in His thirties, when the time was right. St. John the Baptist was in the desert preparing for his ministry for many years, until the time ordained by the Lord arrived. They were grown men, mature and disciplined and responsible. You are only seventeen, young and impulsive, and you don’t yet understand the need for patience and maturity. Your desire to “get on with it” is great, in my opinion, because that’s how you get stuff done, but it needs to be tempered by patience and prudence. Don’t feel slighted by any of this advice, but realize the need to be a balanced person.
You can PM if you want to talk. I’d be happy to, having finally completed the seminary application process and been accepted. I don’t mean to be harsh with you at all, but as a fellow discerner with just a little more life experience, I thought this might illuminate things a little for you.
I think you sound like a great dude, and keep the fire a-burnin’ for Christ!
But I digress…) So you have to live in the present, looking for where God is leading you. Less than a year ago I was certain that one day I’d be walking the halls of a priory in the beautiful white and black habit of the Order of Preachers, and now I feel that there is a very strong possibility that one day I’ll be watching a woman in white walk down the aisle toward me with my ring on her finger. All I can do is repeat what it says above: “So, you see, sometimes working toward what we think we want, we find the things that God wants us to find.”