My 2 cents...

Get a reliable beater like a Civic or an older Accord. You are in college and you'll have enough to just about support yourself. A nice car draws interest and makes people want to do stupid things to it. I've had 2 cars in college and neither were anything I couldn't replace with a few thousand bucks. First was a 1989 Cutlass Supreme that I couldn't care less about. Now I have my 1994 Accord, if it gets stolen or damaged or needs major repairs I can fork out another $4000 to get a new one. I was in the same boat and wanted a 1995 BMW 540i black on black in 6 speed before I got my Accord, but realized that it would draw too much attention and be hard to maintain.

Just my 2 cents as a college student.