Gaining

I'm British but I guess the same general rules apply.
Here a lot of the big supermarket chains (like Walmart there) do offers like half price or buy one get one free and they are often on the high calorie stuff like pies or cakes etc. Look out for those and take full advantage of them

Pancakes and Syrup from Dollar Tree.Everything is a Dollar.Also snack cakes Honeybuns Cookies .And Brownie mix A Dollar.

Dollar General and Family Dollar also have nice offerings in the range between $1 and $2.50.

I knew a very successful gainer who ate a stack of pancakes drenched in syrup at least 5 days a week. And at work around 10:30 am every day she would down three big donuts for another 600-800 fattening calories to hold her until lunch.At 10pm she would eat an entire pan of brownies and drift off to sleep in a food coma.

So.To review. Dollar Tree
Dollar General.
Family Dollar
And for a slight upgrade Walmart and the bakery section including the Glazed Donut "Bakers Dozen (13) 250 calories each at around 5 bucks. 3250 all fattening calories

I'll second the suggestion for rice, beans, lentils, oats, etc., specifically in *bulk*. Even at the expensive food co op near me, these items are very affordable.

I don't remember the exact price, but I remember doing the math on a Costco sized box of rice Krispy treats, but IIRC the calories per dollar ratio is favorable. Could be misremembering.

Additionally, depending on where your college is, you might be able to take advantage of some discounts or free food. For example, if you're in an urban area, there might be plenty of places that toss food. I used to be in walking distance of a Panera, a bagel shop, and a cupcake shop, and all 3 regularly threw stuff in the dumpster, but would either give it to you if you made arrangements, or placed it in bags *near* the dumpster for people to take.