College Kid 1080p DLP Projector

You will not find a 1080p projector under $400. I'm sure you will be very happy with a 720p projector, although even that will be hard to get under $400. My target price was <$500 for a 720p DLP, and I was waiting for about 3 months before I saw an acceptable deal.

In that time I did see some decent 720p projectors for ~$400, for example the Epson Powerlite 705. If you can afford $500 you will find you have many more options.

I'd recommend spending some time on a deals site (slickdeals for example), looking at previous deals for projectors. Learn what is is your price range and decide what suits your purposes best of all. Once you've made your decision, setup a deal alerts so you receive an email the second a deal goes live so that you get in on it in time.

If you go used you may be able to find an older 1080p model for around that price. Last summer I was able to score a used Sanyo PLV-Z700 (aka Sanyo PLV-1080HD) for $499. If you have patience you can find a something in your price range.