Cancellation fee is crazy for a broke college student.

1. The commitment is for a year, you just can't cancel if it pleases you, without paying the early termination fee, which is an indemnification for not keeping your commitment until the end of the subscription period. Based on you commitment and that of the 1,000nds of other users, Adobe may have engaged resources to keep the software and services up and running. The early termination fee is half of the remaining due.
   
   
2. Students get the subscription at a discounted price. Some Universities also offer a subscription at a very reduced rate. But as of my knowledge, all commitments are for a year. You need to be aware of that. It's clearly marked in the terms and conditions. I know, not everyone reads the terms & conditions, but it is worth in all cases to do so. Students should be able to understand for what they are signing up.
   
   
3. Your early termination fee is what you would have to pay per month with a monthly subscription cancellable anytime without a fee, which is $90/month.
   
   
4. There are probably tons of free alternatives to Creative Cloud programs. Depending on your project, a free product would have been most likely also usable. Creative Cloud is a professional tool used by professionals. I agree, it's always nicer to use the tools that the pros are using, but pro tools come with a price tag attached.

This said, contact Adobe customer care and negotiate your way out. Good luck.

I was planning on canceling it after my project since I don't really use any of the paid products and can't really afford the price monthly.

By @Atomiclab

In the future, you may want to read agreements more closely so that when you commit to a contract, you will be aware of all the terms.

all student/eduction subscriptions are annual commitments.  you can opt to pay monthly but it's still an annual commitment.

to discuss, contact adobe support IF you (as opposed to your school) administer your subscription.  there are 2 ways to contact adobe; chat and twitter (now x):

chat:
use a browser that allows popups and cookies
and click here, https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html?rghtup=autoOpen
in the chat field (lower right), type AGENT
be patient, it can take quite a while to reach a human.

twitter/x:
tweet @AdobeCare

p.s. if you're contacted by anyone (via email or private message), it's much more likely to be a scammer than an adobe representative.