Hi! My name's Chris and I'm a 22 year old student working on my bachelor's degree. I love math and languages and I'm thinking of getting a degree in engineering, economics, or finance. I still live with my parents and have never taken budgeting or investment very seriously, based on the naive assumption that once I graduate I will have a great paying job handed to me on a silver platter. I have recently realized that this is an untenable position and I want to learn about investing. So I just found this awesome site and spent about 3 hours reading up on the basics.

I have $400 dollars waiting to invest, and I'm looking to invest about 25%-35% of my income to building my nest egg. This will probably equal about $200-$350 a month. (It's not definite because I am a waiter who relies on tips for the bulk of my income.)
Anyway, enough about me...

I have a few questions that I hope someone can help me with.

First: In general, since I'm young and not particularly afraid of risk, should I be going balls to the walls to try and increase the size of my nest egg? Or should I be looking to invest in a nice steady Index fund? Would a blend of these two strategies be the best?

Second: Because my parents and myself have very low incomes, I have access to subsidized student loan money. While I'm in school, the federal government pays the interest on these loans. Assuming I go a low-risk investment path, is there any reason why I shouldn't add these funds to my nest egg to get the ball rolling?

Any other investment or financial management feedback would be much appreciated.

Thank you for your time!
Chris