Well, if you are not going to enrole until the fall of '03, starting your training before hand might not be a bad idea. I had my private cert. before I started here.
Starting now would give you a few advantages.
1. You can find out if flying is for you before you enrole at UND. (which I assume you would not do if you didn't want to fly)
2. It will make the learning curve a little less steep your first semester here.
3. I think that it is good to get some flying experience outside of UND
There is only one disadvantage I can think of: When you come here you will still have to take the private pilot ground school. You will also have take a abreviated version of the private flight course. This is done to ensure you have the required level of knowledge and skill to procede in the instrument and commercial course and be successfull. (our standards are significantly higher than many flight schools)
So starting before hand will not save you any money but it may help you in the long run. I would talk to student services, and get there advice also. They are very helpfull. Ask for Ken Polovitz. He is the head of the department, and a really nice guy.
Good Luck
GO SIOUX