My pennies worth..
Don't get me wrong, I love Aerospace. But if your first year is anything like mine, which I don't know, you'll quickly want reading material that'll remind you why exactly you're doing Aero in the first place. My first year included stuff like electrics, materials, LOTS of maths, CAD and other indirectly relevant material. I mean, I wanted to do stuff directly related to aircraft straight away! Whatever happens, stick with it. 2nd year gets better.
Interestingly, I have a m8 at imperial, smart bloke, got all A's alevel, and he's findin it a bit hard. He loves it though! Good luck, maybe you'll get to meet him.
FFW
@ Genghis, did you do a MEng to become chartered or work in industry to gain experience for it?