Currently going to enter my final year of GameDev at a major Uni in the US. I would like to point out a few things.
Enter it prepared to work your ass off: Day 1 isn't necessarily the most busy, but as your progress through the program you will be spending many nights awake and getting little to no sleep for how much work you do. I've had weeks where I can get a good night's rest (8hrs) and others where I operate on 3 or less hours a night.
Focus on a core part of gamedev besides your major: I currently am in a Design/Production concentration; but if we're being honest here that will not translate into any big job out of school. The amount of people who want to design games in my program is huge and the job market is crazy hard to get into as a Designer. What do you want to do within the pipeline itself? Do you like writing narrative? Focus on stories and take screenwriting classes. Do you want to create player interactions? Learn engine scripting languages and understand how to create basic scripts (the two most common would be Unity in C# and Unreal 4 Blueprint). I focus mainly on production (tracking, deliverables) and Level Design, make sure to spread your skills out so you can really be prepared and have an edge out of the gate.
Be sure to dedicate time to other things: One of the things that I highly stress to people is to focus on other things as well. Having a balanced life is hard for sure, but make sure you are able to do things outside of making games. I personally am the president of my fraternity here at school and do volunteer work. It will allow you to take breaks and not burn out as much through the program itself. I think this is the one thing many people miss, and honestly if I didn't do this throughout my time here I would be a tad more cynical about things.
Do gamedev work outside of your classes: If there is anything I wish I did more of before I came to school was to work outside of classes. It is so important to do work that will allow you to shine and showcase other work you have that can wow perspective employers. If there is a group of people trying to make a game, jump in and try and help out. If you want to create a badass level go and get some free assets and create a level space with documentation describing how you want the gameplay to go. Always make sure you're doing something within the gamedev area. It will make your portfolio and CV/Resume that much stronger when you graduate.
Love what you do: The most important thing I can ever say. If you aren't loving it then players will know that it wasn't made with heart. It's hard for sure, but I'm not in game development because "I like games" or for the money. I do this because I want to create the next user experience that everyone plays and loves. Make sure if you want go into this, or anything you do for that matter; that you love it and cannot imagine yourself doing anything else.
If you have any questions or if anyone wants advice or direction on where to go for schools please do not hesitate to PM me. Always willing to help. Hope these points are somewhat informative.