Re: American Guppies
if you have only between 2 to 3k, you'd be better of going to wherever you get a tuition waiver AND some additional funding (such as grant, loan etc). If you have a really fantastic undergrad accomplishment, some univ's may even give you some assistanceship.
Hard to comment without specifics on subject, but my opinion is this - if you're studying full time, I'd locate the univs that have the best programs in my field. Once you get in, assuming they give a tuition waiver (full or part), I think it's possible to take a campus or off-campus job to earn some living money. Many people do this.
Good luck to you