I'd recommend a "normal" computer science or software engineering degree over a "game school". I don't know if this would be more expensive or not in the US... Yes it's worth it -- the way that mainstream recruitment works is that "has a degree" is one of the first checks done on the pile of resumes in their inbox.

I also tend to recommend run of the mill 4 year university. That degree will provide more options in your future, since you're going to change your mind (or otherwise be put into a position where gamedev isn't available to you).

Cost though is irrelevant. Go to the best school you can get into. Financial aid is plentiful, and on average getting a degree will increase your household's average income by $32,000 a year. Assuming you aren't hit by a bus at 30, you're likely to work for about 40 years. Which is about 1.3 million dollars (without adjusting for inflation or taxation). Education is, and always will be the most valuable investment you can make.

And sure, this is a vast oversimplification, but I tire of the constant complaints of cost on these forums and elsewhere. If you do not have a degree, you will not get most interviews. If you do not have a degree or have a crappy education, you will make less money than your peers because you have less leverage in your initial salary negotiations. If you have a crappy education, you will be passed over for hiring more often which hits directly in your pocket book.

Don't skimp.

Probably the most important thing about the university course is the ability to enroll in a work program. At my university it was called a co-op work term and basically it's a partially government funded employment program which nets you some wicked work XP if you play your cards right.

The most important aspects are really work experience and your portfolio/resume/interview skills. A university degree is important, but not mandatory. I recommend you get one, however (it's hard to get the work experience without spending time at a university and you may as well finish while you are there.)

The specific program you take pretty much doesn't matter. Your enthusiasm and dedication to your craft will be what carries you to your destination anyway.

I disagree on some points with Telastyn, your university really matters less and less as you progress through your career. It is most influential in your starting point, but less in your ending point. Many successful and wealthy people have gone through life without completing a degree, averages do not apply to -every- person, only the majority, so it is not correct to blanket terms like "you will make less money than your peers" because that just isn't true in every case.

Someone with a masters may be able to bargain or start further in, but if all you get is a basic 4-year degree, you really have very little to leverage as a recent grad because competition is pretty fierce and larger companies have standard starting wages for inexperienced new talent, there's only so far you can push when 10 other people are as qualified and interested in the job you're considered for and standing right behind you to get it. You are more likely able to bargain after being in the work force for a while. This is really just what I've seen of things, maybe I'm completely out to lunch.