Hood Latch problems

You already have a broken headlight; strike one
The hood latch won’t close securely; strike two

If you are driving during the daytime, and you don’t encounter any bad weather, you might get by on one headlight. If you travel in rainy / snowy weather, it’s dangerous and you may get a ticket for having a broken headlight. (Ususally you have a period of time to get it fixed and mail a copy of the receipt for repair. You don’t have to pay the fine if you do this.)

I know I’m going to get beat up for this advice, but I was a college student once and didn’t have any money for repairs. You can do this if you are either somewhat mechanically inclined or have a friend who is.

Go to Walmart and get some chain (about 6 feet) and 2 padlocks. Open the hood and run the chain through the latch under the hood; looks like an open metal square just under the front of the hood.

Close the hood while you feed the chain down in front of the radiator and on each side of any cross beam or other brace you can find so that you can put the padlock through the chain links to secure it.

This should get you home, running at 65-70, no more. Keep an eye on the hood while you drive. If it pops up to the safety latch, slow down and stop in a populated area (lots of people around), check the chain. If the padlock broke, put the second padlock on and consider buying another one. Go slower this time.

If you aren’t feeling lucky, buy a bus ticket instead, go home, beg for repair money. Maybe that’s the best thing to do anyway.

Good luck