I think you might've been looking at the wrong chicken, because you're paying more than for beef. Last I checked chicken is anywhere from $0.59/lb. to ~$2/lb. Chicken for $5/lb. is organic/freerange, which is probably not what someone on a tight budget is going to buy.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are that much up this way. You can find them on sale for $2/pound now and then. It's a mad house at that grocery store having the sale for the day.
I do agree that a student on a budget probably isn't buying a lot of BL/SL or tenders.
-Mike