LOL @ the hopes, dreams, and expectations of a college student...I remember my senior year at UMD
My advice is to keep saving until you can afford a nice WRX, STI, or Evo. Also, keep researching everything and test-drive a few examples of each until you really get a feel for exactly what you want in a car. My wife has a modded '07 WRX and although it has a completely different feel than my Evo, it is still a very fun car to bomb around in. With a few mods she's making more power than stock Evo's and with Shane's (ecoli) custom dyno tune on it I have no reservations regarding its reliability. The Evo is a great choice if you're willing to give up some of that comfort and smoothness for raw performance. The Evo is much harsher and the interior has no where near as many creature-comforts, but when I get on the gas, hammer the brakes, or turn the wheels hard I forget all about that and immediately start grinning. I feel the STI falls somewhere between the WRX and Evo and is almost a compromise of the two; some of the WRX niceties and 80% of the Evo's raw performance characteristics.