Paying for my Education

My name is Olif, and I'm a first year at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. I'm from a low income family and paying for my education here without help from my family because they're not in a position to be able to. If my mom had the means to help me, she would in a heartbeat, but right now she has student debt of her own. I struggled to cover the tuition gap even after quite a generous financial aid package from the school. I spent the second semester of my senior year penny pinching, networking, applying for a seemingly endless amount of scholarships and grants, and working a summer job. I'm doing everything I can to avoid taking out more loans than the $5,500 of direct government loans I'm allotted annually. Even working two jobs on campus isn't quite enough to cover my fees for next semester and costs of living. My total expenses to the school next semester are about $5,700, and I have $4,100 I'm able to pay myself, but the other $1,600 I would have to take out an extra loan for if I can't find another way to cover it.

Currently I'm focusing primarily on Economics and Law with my studies. I want to get my bachelors degree so I can continue onto law school and make a career in politics. My goal is to try and do something to help poverty in the United States. How that will manifest in my later life is still unclear, but my end goal is to help create a future where low income students don't find themselves in my position.
If you do contribute, you're not just helping pay for my education, you're helping me get one step closer to achieving my lifelong ambitions.

Every bit helps, thank you.