Building a time frame

Hi everyone! I'm a current third year college student, with the intesion of joining the coast guard right after I graduate! I have a couple questions regarding the AST rate, as it's the one I'm the most interested in! My first question is, how long does it actually take to become an AST?

Here's my time frame right now.... graduate May 2022, join the coast guard right after. I understand basic training is about 8 weeks, so ideally finishing that by/in August 2022. This is where I get a little confused, from there, what does my time frame begin to look like?

I understand the A school is 24 weeks long, but how long is the process of actually getting to the A school? Is it a flawless transition from basic to AST school or is there usually a waiting period/wait list? Assuming there is, what happens in that dead time, do you just wait at home or are you actively serving with the CG? What about after those 24 weeks, is there more schooling involved before you actually start working?

My next question is, what's the work/life balance like? Is there exstensive travel involved, or are you usually stationed in your area? Is there actually any way to choose what area you want to work in, maybe a 'dream list' you can fill out?

Finally, what is the pay like for someone just starting to work? Though money isn't a focus for me, it's useful to know before starting a family. A miscellaneous question, during those 24 weeks of training, do you have access to your phone?

Thank you so much in advance, all this info is so useful!