Well, I'll start by saying at least you are looking and asking in the right space.  These forums are extremely valuable in figuring out your way ahead. 

Since you are a university student... I'm assuming you might be in a dormitory type room with free electricity.  If that is the situation and you are able to run your gear without the heat bothering you or your roommate(s) too much then you are going to be great. 

Sometimes, when the prices are down and you have free electricity... well, this can be the best time to mine because people are nervous and the difficulty of mining might go lower allowing you to mine more coins. 

People suggest to buy coins and this is also a fine idea.  Do what feels right for you.  I like having mining equipment because it gives me the option to be more flexible to mine new coins that aren't even on exchanges yet. 

But eventually, you will have to use an exchange to sell/buy coins to eventually exchange to some fiat or crypto currency to use to pay expenses or buy things.  Learn how the exchanges work and try to figure out optimal times to buy/sell.  As they say, buy low and sell high!

And... like I said about these forums... Keep reading, keep posting... and maybe even build up positive reputation and consider buying some things through the markets here.  It won't be long until you are a full member and more and can participate with more impact in such things as signature campaigns or other campaigns.  This is a great way to also build your crypto holdings and continue to pioneer the bold new crypto world.