Work and save money before you enter a University. If you work and save for 2 years after high school you gain many advantages: 1) You will save some money to

Work and save money before you enter a University. If you work and save for 2 years after high school you gain many advantages: 1) You will save some money to pay for school. 2) Because you are a bit older a new world of grants are available to you since you are returning to education. 3) Because your income will probably be fairly low you will qualify for more grants due to this fact. 4) Gives you time to figure out what you want to go to school for and possibly make you take it more seriously when you start. Another option is to join the military and qualify for a lot of additional grants that way. 4 years of service opens a lot of doors. There are many non-combat roles available. There are many ways for the poor to advance themselves and not cripple themselves financially for the next 40 years.