As has already been said, you don't need a degree to be a pilot and neither do you need an ATPL! Some of us flew for the military and had lots of fun all our adult lives with just 8 'O' levels! If you're clever enough to get into Uni then you'll find that the 'technical' side of flying isn't that hard, you'll not know if you have the 'stick and throttle' aptitude until you get airborne though.