Not trying to sound rude or mean... but why would you point out that your piggie would be dead by the time you went to college? It just makes it sound like you're not that interested in it's well being because you don't expect it to live very long.
Even if you knew your piggie would be "gone".. let's say tomorrow.. that would be no excuse to not take care of it to the best of your ability today.
I'm not trying to be mean.. I just thought that wasn't a very nice way for you to justify having your pet in a small space.
You wouldn't want to be forced into a tiny space yourself, would you?
Good luck with your cage making...
http://cavycages.com/howto.htm