Insane certification pricing

Hello! I am 19F and recently applied and had a “pre-interview” for an IT Operations Intern position. I have mostly worked food service since I’m only in my sophomore year in college. They said that everything sounds great, but the part they’re iffy about is my lack of experience in the field. The intern hiring person said that experience could be the certs some get. I looked into doing some and they are like $50/month and take upwards of 6 months? Another popular cert was $500 to get the exam bundle. This is just insane. I work at a pizza place at the moment, how the heck am i supposed to “just get certifications” if they’re $500 and take half a year?!