Hey guys im officially starting a 4 year I.D. degree program next September. That leaves me a year to prepare myself. Any tips or advice for an aspiring designer? What can i do now to better myself before the school year?
travel the world with a sketchbook and an open mind
talk to people that make things
Look into what CAD programs your school is going to teach. Get a jump on the tech part. Do some tutorials and familiarize yourself. Also never hurts to start sketching.
Also if you aren’t on loans. Work you butt off and save every last dime so you don’t have to work while you are in school. Living in the studio is going to give you the best bang for your buck. Plus other designers are great help for everything while you are in school.
Read: as much core77 as you can, that will lead to other readings about design like :
http://www.core77.com/blog/news/mini_design_history_lesson_eliot_noyes_17894.asp
Sketch: all the time. Visualizing you ideas is one of the most important starter tools to have.
Work: the money will be good later… school is expensive, especially once you start making models (do they still do that?)
Have fun: be a kid sometimes too 
Yup, material, plus machine time, plus finishing, all always take you by surprise at the end of the project.
Have fun with your projects and do what you want with them, being different is a good thing.
Be nice to EVERYBODY, this is a small industry and being a jerk will bite you in the ass.
Internships, internships, internships.
sketch, sketch, sketch, sketch, photoshop, sketch, sketch, illustrator, sketch, sketch, read core, sketch, sketch, sketch, flip though coroflot, sketch, sketch, sketch, repeat.
Sketch, lean how to adjust you sleep scheduled to what seems to be a bad joke, and do something amazing every chance you get. Also start looking on CL for MCM furniture and bikes, and hustle that stuff for some fun and dollars on the side. Oh when you sketch, draw with your arm not your fingers, and then scan them suckers in and post them up here.