I wish I knew what I know now when I was broke and in college-its good that you know this. I remember eating Mac& cheese from a box and tons of ramen. Too this day, I cant handle the look or smell of any of them-ha.
what I do is, I have a container that fits under my bed (like a sweater box) in it there is tons of free stuff that I got using coupons when they doubled and tripled. Here is what is in my box right now: toothpaste (8 tubes), several toothbrushes, lots of lotions and deoderants, lots of dental floss, extra razors, shaving creme, chapstick (about 9 of them). I couldnt have gotten any of it without coupons.
I dont let my husband know what is under the bed-ha. Also, I keep another container for all my trial size items that are shipped to me for free-it really comes in handy to go thru this as I am packing or a vacation!
I get lots of free food items by couponing too...It is not uncommong for me to go to 2 grocery stores in a week. Check out the sales ads from the grocery stores and buy things on sale.
Also, go out with a few guys (dates) for a few free meals-ha!
Get an entertainment passbook for your area-they have great coupons in them- then you can buy a meal and get one free-share the cost of the meal that you have to pay for with a friend or dorm mate-for those special times that you can eat out.
If you have a farmers market-check it out to see if they have any good deals on produce.