Does the campus have a bike co-op? Mine does, and they have a program where the teach you how to build your own bike. You show up with a frame (or more complete bike), pay them $50, then they teach you how everything works at weekly classes and let you dig through the used parts bins, as well as giving you a discount on new stuff. You end up with a bike and the skills to maintain it yourself. Lots of people do cheap singlespeed and fixed conversions.
No idea if this is a common program at bike co-ops, or unique, but it'd be worth looking into.