[cardano]

I was in a somewhat similar situation. My parents couldn't really afford college, I had no car for 4 years, and for the first couple years I had no idea where to go. Now that I am done with college and looking back, here's a few helpful pointers:

1. Similar to the other posters: try getting scholarship or government financial aid first. For me, most of my loan came from a corporation, CitiAssist, which lent more liberally and still maintained a low interest.

2. Limitation creates opportunity. I didn't have a car so many jobs were out of the question since I didn't want to sacrifice valuable time traveling. Because of my disposition, I was looking at work I can do in front of the computer, which I eventually found. It ended up providing much needed income, more freedom, and something useful I can put on the resume.

3. Find meaningful internships: Not the ones that require you to staple paper and bring over coffee and a cream cheese bagel, but those that challenges you, pertinent to your interests, (and potentially provides travel to another city). This is based on my personal experience as well as from my close friends. I can't stress how important this is.

Good luck!