You can get a free version of max (and maya as well) if you are a student. Not sure what the exact terms are, but it's probably a 6-month license and there may or may not be a watermark. But if you're interested, sign up for an account and let us know what hoops you have to go through.
http://students.autodesk.com/
If you want to own the software, as mentioned above, JourneyEd is great for purchasing student software. I have used them many times.