help please, 97 civic w/ probs, dunno to keep it or sell it

Hey all, this fall i will be traveling 5 hrs to college one way. I have a civic, 97 right now, and it has mad probs. 2nd gear is going, and right before i shift it sounds high and weird, sorta like a weedwacker sounds. Umm, basically i need advice. I really hate big cars, and to me, its big...i wanna go trick out a nice del sol or crx, or civ hatch for that matter, i just like smaller cars better. Should i spend the $ to fix the car and pay at least a grand to fix it up, or just sell as is for liek $3000 or so...

it has 114k miles on it and the outside has a few dents, like 3 major ones with the biggest being the size of a baseball.

I just dunno what to do, and i have to come up w/ $5000 for college by aug. I have 4k now , so im pretty set i think...