Have you considered getting a job at Sam Houston? It looks like they provide employee scholarships.
Not only would your education be free, you would actually be earning money while in college. You could graduate with a 'stache instead of student loan debt.
Many state universities actually offer this benefit; however, that's only for full (or at least 75% time) staff or faculty positions. It's
really difficult to find such a position without having an "in", as most hard-to-screw-up positions are given to student workers, which are super cheap for universities - they are exempt from standard employee benefits including the tuition waiver, as well as no medicare or social security matching required, cheap wage, etc.
Actually, the best job for a college student is dorm RA (resident assistant). You get free room&board, assistance with tuition and you even get a small paycheck once in a while. The only major downside is that you'd have to look after ~20 dorm residents and may not be able to go out a lot. As far as I know, freshmen can't get those jobs, since they require a few months of training, but if you apply for one during your first year, you'll be able to save a fortune over the next three years! :^D
This is dependent on the university you go to. It's usually one of the higher paying student jobs, but not always. At my university, RAs get a lump sum "scholarship" at the beginning of the semester for $4000 - $2500 of which is meant to cover your dorm cost for that semester. RAs are expected to work 30 hours a week at the front desk, as well as perform their normal RA duties such as be a counselor, referee, adviser, group leader, role model, etc. Just the front desk hours brings you down to working for less than $8.50/hr, and that's not even getting into your 24/7 job of being the first line of defense for 20+ people.
Not worth it in many cases. You can usually get a student job in a dining hall that pays roughly the same amount, without having to be always on-call, plus the possible perk of food discounts. Another option is to look for a computer lab job. Many universities staff computer labs with student workers in order to provide assistance (or really just to be a theft deterrent). They are generally higher paying, similar to a library job, and are "study jobs" that make it easy to get homework done while working.
Federal work-study jobs, as they're called, are actually one of the forms of aid you may be eligible for. The long and the short of it is that you get an award that you have to work for a bit - say $2000 a year. A department on campus (and select others off campus) can hire you, often for some light clerical work or such and you typically get a lot of time to do your homework. Sometimes you can get lucky and find a professor that has a bit of funding and is doing work that you can help with which is great CV stuff. They only chip in 25% of your salary and the rest comes from that award, which means that you're an attractive job candidate as you cost the department/professor a quarter of a student without work-study.
Also, there's no reason you couldn't do that and another job at the same time (such as be an RA or even another job off campus).
These work really well if you can do it with multiple jobs, but as a single job, there are better paying options. Federal work-study positions tend to pay minimum wage, so that they can spread the funding across as many students as possible. You also have to be very precise in keeping up with your time worked, and make sure you work the mandatory amount of hours per week for your study program; if you have a cram week you can't try to slow down on the work. Most other positions on campus, even if they only pay minimum wage like dining jobs usually do, at least come with perks or slightly more flexibility.
What do you want out of a job? If you want quick cash and free food, become a pizza delivery boy or a waiter. (Those tips can really add up!) If you want a low-paying but incredibly easy job, get one on campus: for example, if you work at the library, you'll essentially be paid for doing your homework, unless there's a huge line of people who want to check out/return books.
If you go the delivery boy or waiter route, I encourage the waiter. Do
not be a delivery boy near a campus. You'll either be delivering lunch to employees, or dinner to students. Employees usually pitch in for the pizza, and the pot comes up short more often than it has a tip. So whoever actually gives you the money has to scrounge to even make the bill, let alone tip you. Students, I've learned from experience, generally don't tip the delivery guy. The only students that even know what a tip is are waiters; and they don't tip delivery guys because they believe that just driving a pizza to them isn't enough work to warrant a tip. Since most drivers work for less than minimum wage and gas is ~$4/gallon, getting stiffed a few times really eats at your money. I managed a Domino's for about a year before I came to college, so I know this fact very well.
I'm currently a sophomore in my university program, and have worked my way through 5 different departments/positions and have gone from making $8.50/hr at my first position to making $20/hr where I'm at now. With that said, here's my perspective on your situation:
1. Fill out the FAFSA, and send it to
both Sam Houston and the Community College. Apply to both schools, even if you have to pay application fees (but not deposits). Find out what your financial aid package is going to be (how much your scholarships, grants, and all that add up to) at both schools, then calculate exactly what the out-of-pocket difference between the 4-year university and the 2 year cc -> 2 year university program. If it's not much, go to the university the whole time. Community Colleges don't generally have nearly as many student jobs, as well as much lower student financial aid. By being at the university longer, you'll have a stronger network there to utilize for scholarships, job opportunities, etc. Plus, after the school year starts and some students don't show up, universities then re-allocate the unused financial aid funds to the students that did show up. As a student that can show financial need (based off of your FAFSA), you'll be at the top of the list to receive the unused funds. I generally have one or two small scholarships show up on my financial aid package every year between the time the year starts and when the money is dispersed.
2. Make friends with your professors, especially professors for the department your major is from. Go to their office hours, be personable with them. They are your greatest asset. A full tenured professor has spent at least 15 years of their life there, and usually longer. Over that time, they learn which professors have excess funding that could be used for an undergrad, which professors are looking for students that might fit your skillset, stuff like that. Professors are a great source of
unadvertised jobs. My current position, netting a decent $20/hr, is the result of a professor's recommendation.
3. Look for student positions in IT departments. They're usually strapped for cash due to massive software licensing costs and constant hardware upgrades, as well as the high cost of skilled IT labor. So they hire students to take care of labor intensive acts such as help desks, computer labs, etc. Because you're usually working with computer stuff, they're more selective than other student positions. You just have to
not be an idiot to get a job there, which you seem to be well above that threshold (you'd be surprised how many college students fall below it). Because they're more selective, they generally pay better wages. Two of my five positions have been with IT departments in different Colleges, and they were the highest paying until my current gig. Sam Houston is a huge state school like I go to, and therefore will have a main university IT group, but also each of the individual Colleges will usually have their own internal IT staff. Look for positions in both; especially in your major's department. They'll usually try to find funding for their own majors.
4.
Make your financial need known. Especially after you've done #2, if you've become friendly with a personable professor. Monies for students with financial needs is available at all levels. You'll automatically get what you qualify for from the university itself when they prepare your financial aid package. However, the College your major is in, as well as the department your major is in, will both also have some monies available that they "give" you, rather than you automatically qualify for.
Let them know your need. I now receive an $800/yr scholarship just because I happened to ask my departmental adviser if the department offered any needs-based scholarships or grants. That professor is also the reason for 2 of my 5 jobs, including the one I'm currently working for $20/hr (and will hopefully have the rest of my time at school). Your results in this will vary, but all they can say is no, there isn't anything available. But if there is, you've just earned yourself a scholarship, and if there's not, it's in the person's mind if anything comes up.
This has become a fairly long post and it's getting late here, so if any of my rambling is confusing and needs clarification let me know. But I can't stress enough the value of befriending a professor. They've spent their entire adult lives in a university; 8+ years learning, and the remainder teaching. In contrast, your "advisor" is usually a graduate student that didn't do their undergraduate work at that particular university, and full time staff employees in places such as financial aid offices are generally so overworked/overwhelmed that they don't have the ability to spend much extra time helping a single student. Professors know the system the best, and are therefore the best guides through it.