As ian said, I f you do a degre, do something you like, and it s true that uni is really a lot of fun. I chose aero eng rather than something else, despite I used to prefer social sciences at school, because I thought it would make myself more attractive at interviews. But as I said, you can t force yourself to do something you hate.
Otherwise, I really don t think that you can do your theoretical ATPL, and your CPL/IR and uni at the same time. So doing a PPL is fine, but for the rest, it s better to wait for the end of your degree.
It s true that doing a training without a diploma or any qualifications, is a bit of a gamble. But it s also very important to be confident, and not to forget that flying is your priority(That doesn t mean that you have to do like me, or that you shouldn t go to uni). The most important thing is to be motivated. You can be the smartest guy and pass psychometric tests easely, but without motivation, there is no way you make it to the right hand seat of an airliner.
Good luck to you guys. And spend a lot of time making your choice. You must know why you do what. Otherwise, you can t pass the airline interviews.
winch