What program should i use/ learn?

#1 It's all a matter of personal taste. I use 3dsmax, which is probably the most expensive, but for a cheaper alternative Softimage|XSI or Lightwave 3d are very popular professional packages. I'd reccommend downlaod trial versions of Max, Softimage, Maya and any others that have Torque plugins to see which one you like better before making a decision.

#2 I've found that Maya is pretty easy to use, but when it comes to exporting using Maya2DTS, it gets a lot more complicated, Im still working out how to do it.

But i'd recommend maya anyway, there are loads of good tutorials for exporting with it out there.

#3 If you have the time to learn, and dont have the budget for much... i would suggest blender (personally i think its a pain to learn)

its completely free, so doesnt hurt the wallet very much ;)

#4 Im actually a student and the money really isnt an issue because of grants, budgets and such, i really just want to know what people would recomend as the best to learn and use im asuming 3ds max is the most popular and light wave also seems to be popular... Whats the best modeler for game design? ( i know there no "best" but i would like to hear peoples opinions.)

#5 Im getting a masters in interactive technology and video game design at SMU's Guildhall program and they teach us max. There is also a nice max2DTS exporter on here if you search.

#6 I would definitely recommend 3ds max. Read my post here:
http://www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=50794