SadisticApathy

I'm going to assume you mean a Computer Science degree for the sake of this response. It sorta depends on what kind of things you want to do with your programming and what languages you intend on learning. I honestly can't give any specifics as I don't know a ton about it, but I'd do some research on different programming language and what they are applicable to. It's probably going to be hard-ish to find work considering the fierce competition for the few slots there are in the field(at least that's the impression I get), so you'll need to do some strong programs on the side to show you are a competent and elegant code writer.  I hope this helps somehow.

Nine Inch Nails - "Another Version of the Truth" might work. It's not exactly hard rockin' or anything, but it sort of fits the general theme of desperation that game evokes.
 
@Atlas
 Just mentioning Isis makes me want to give you a huge internet high-five.

Nice write-up man. It make me feel even worse for not having played this game or the Digital Devil Saga games yet. While it seems like it follows a few of the cliches the genre is known for, it sounds like it generally breaks the mold. I've had this game on my radar since I played Persona 4 and I do intend on getting it soon!

I see Nvidia is finally moving from GDDR2 to GDDR5, unless the spec pic is fake as well. Anywhoo, I probably won't be upgrading my card when I do another build at the tail end of 2010. My GTX 260 suits me just fine at the moment and before that card I was using a Geforce 7000 series card, so I'd say my current one has quite a few years of life left.

1. Persona 4
2. Mother 2 (Earthbound)
3. Final Fantasy VI
4. Fallout
5. Mass Effect
 
It's always hard for me to narrow down set in stone favorites as my opinion always changes, but I can say that these 5 will generally always place high on my favorite RPGs list despite time passed and games played.

I miss the longer manuals of the past as well. When I was younger, I'd always read the entire manual for a game after playing it for the first time. It kinda added to the 'being sucked into the world' aspect of gaming and made me even more excited to play the game again.

DBZ and Gundam Wing. Actually, pretty much anything that was ever on Toonami is pretty nostalgic for me, but I enjoyed those 2 the most when I was a kid.

Right now, I'm re-reading The Sound and The Fury by William Faulkner. I first read it in high school for a research paper and despite enjoying it, the ridiculous stream of consciousness section in Quentin's arc of the story really threw me off at the time. Now that I'm a bit more well read , I going back to try to make more sense of that section and the book as a whole. Also, I've picked up The Heart of Darkness to read.