NO Focus! Get something cheap, quick and reliable if you want something different. For the money, in the 10-14k price range, something Japenese. Aviod 944 or anything Porsche until you can afford late model or afford to repair an old vehicle. Actually, just thought about what car I would want to drive if I wanted something fun and reliable if I were in school today, and I came up with a 300ZX. My buddy owned one 10 years ago and it was a GREAT car. Drove wonderful, was SOLID as a rock and was relatively quick. I think it had about 222 HP, but handled very well for the time. I did a search on Auto Trader and found 20 with 50-80k miles within 100 miles of my house for under $15k.

BUT, your problem is that you are probably taking a loan and it is primary transportation, so you CAN'T afford to have the car break down AND make a car payment. So, buying a $15k used car is probably a bad idea. So, I would buy something in cash for $5-10k or take a loan for 1/2 of what you can afford to save money for repairs. I would personally buy a used Mustang GT...used parts in a thousand junkyards and EASIEST car to fix. While it might not be the best handling car, it will handle better than the focus and you could have that car deep into the 13's quarter mile, with some weekend wrench time. Also, wrenching your own car will build valuable car knowledge that will last a lifetime and build character that money can't buy.

I had a 5.0 Mustang in college and it was a great car for a 20 year old. I had a BLAST! Someday, you will have a mortgage, kids, and nagging wife and be miserable like the rest of us!