This is why I think that a higher education in programming is mandatory.
Having a degree in computer science is a good proof of one very specific particular achievement - the ability to apply scientific method to your work. Scientific method teaches you to see difference between fact and assumption. Most of the employers won't even talk to you without that proof. Some people may also make the mistake that a degree is a proof of ability to program. However, programming is a craft. You can't achieve great craftsmanship within ramification of taking a degree - there is simply no time for that within that scope. Also the theory behind programming is being taught before you start taking the degree itself. With your degree you specialize in a part of the subject you take degree in to an extent. But for bachelor's degree foremost the scientific method itself. Having a degree will display knowledge and interest in a specific area of computer science. This does not necessarily require writing one line of code to achieve.
Use your time to bask in the light of education. Embrace knowledge. Take all the certificates that do not detract from your mandatory grades. Same goes for additional courses. You may not know how well you will do. Maybe you will breeze through it. On some courses you may have an uphill battle. Focus on the mandatory courses. Embellish with non-mandatory courses. If you can get a certificate, get it.
Whether your employer will care about your additional courses, certificates, and exams depends very much on what you and they are looking for. That is, the job you apply for, and the company it is available at, and also how the company intends to treat your future as their employee. What everyone certainly should be looking at (unless they are fools) is how you manage your mandatory courses, and compare that to the other results you present them with your grades and CV.
A company may also be asking for personal references. If you show proficiency in some areas, a former teacher may be a decisive reference. Another may be if you manage to do some commercial work while at school. Everything can become a positive reference, any extra-curricular, or curricular activity. In this regard, I would say that the most important is the friendships and personal networks you will make during the studies. They all witness your actions and performance in real life situations, and they can all become your friends for life (and some of them likely will).
The fact is, some jobs are dead end, and not worth staying at. When that time comes to apply for job, perhaps you shouldn't want to accept work with an employer who does not care to acknowledge the achievements you think are important. Perhaps you shouldn't want to work with people who don't accept both your strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, you may take a dead end job if no other job is available just in order to gain working experience. You are not only going to be chosen, you are also going to be choosing.
And maybe you don't need to make all the choices now? Some you may take as they become available. You never know what's behind the next corner, because, life.