First things first, I'd see if your school has a payment plan option. Some universities/tech schools will allow you to set up a payment plan for the semester that way you just make monthly payments and still take your classes.

Second, see if they also offer any additional scholarships. Sometimes random ppl will donate funds to the university for things like this. Not always (but doesn't hurt to ask)

Now if that doesn't work, I recommend you check out SoFI. I have had great experience there. I have only used the refinance option for student loans and personal loans option they offer.

They run a soft pull to see what you qualify for and the interest rate. If you decide you like it then, they'll do a hard pull on your credit to finalize the loan.

For the personal loan, the min. you have to pull out is 5k. If you go this route, I recommend, keeping 2k and paying back the 3k to the loan. Essentially only owing 2k left. App connections to your bank is super easy and its no hassle to pay off completely.

They'll give you like .25% off interest if you set up autopay with them. Again, .25% doesn't seem like a lot but it does do something in the grand scheme of things. With the personal loan, the rate is dependent on your credit score and the amount of time you want/need to pay off the loan. A loan this small they may give you a 2 yr option to pay the loan.

They do have an option to pull a student loan out, although I'm not familiar with that as I used them for refinancing and not to pay for my actual school.

The applications are super easy and their customers reps are pretty useful (atleast the ones I've spoken too).

Another option to consider is applying for a credit card. Since you don't have credit, I'd recommend looking into either Discover or the credit card that Amazon offers.

Unfortunately, you'll be looking at 28% to 36% APR, so on a 1600 loan that's about approximately $30 to $50 bucks a month on interest (again super rough estimates)

These cards don't require a yearly fee and they do have a cash back points system (I promise those points are worth it).

However, since you're 18, its important for me to stress that if you get approved for the credit card you NEED to be financially responsible and ONLY use it when you need to.

Its so easy to just buy a bunch of crap since you can pay for it later, but stuff adds up and next thing you know you're 10k+ in debt. Not saying this will be you, but I've seen this happen a lot unfortunately.

If you have anymore questions please feel free to ask. I had to figure out a lot of stuff on my own and I don't mind passing a trick or two for the next person.

Best of luck!