The beautiful thing about college - especially a large university - is that it’s just not high school. There will be such a diverse range of students that you should have no problem finding people in similar financial positions (or people with similar values, regardless of how much money they have) that will make you feel like you aren’t always on the outside peering in. No one cares what you wear, and everyone assumes college students in general are “starving”, so hustling for the free/super cheap deal on anything is expected and usually encouraged. Free pizza at a club’s welcome meeting? Yes! Splitting meals with someone at your local dive? Of course? Shopping at the local thrift store? Naturally. Buying used/renting/borrowing textbooks? Duh. Like @NorthernMom61 says, kill it academically - that’s the biggest gift you can give yourself. And it will keep you so busy, you won’t have time to worry about all of the stuff you can’t afford.