joesimon - it is cheaper to pay 18 year olds than 24 year olds with degrees due to the promotion rate differences.... So guess which the bean counters prefer?
Never heard of anyone having the time to do an 'in service degree' whilst having to cope with overstretch and Trust-me-Tone's bring-a-bottle wars.......
There are no University Cadetships any more - the deal is a weak shadow of its former self. If you do go to University, join the OTC and only knock on the RAF's door a week or so before your finals. Then you can't be assessed on how well you fly the Tupperware trainer at weekends whilst trying to get a half decent degree and keeping a part-time job to be able to survive..... So after IOT you'll do EFT with far better continuity, giving you a better chance of doing well enough to be streamed FJ.