I'm also in the 'University is great but don't try and use it for your ATPL exams' school of thought.
Sorry pinkpilot, I have to agree with penworth. I have an MEng from a decent uni (ie one that wasn't a poly 10 years ago) and it didn't help me with my ATPL's one bit.
That is not to say it hindered me in any shape or form (14 first time passes
) but it was largely irrelevant.
There was nothing in the groundschool that was more difficult than my O Level (Not GCSE!) maths or physics - never mind A Level and certainly not my degree!
I am sure that an aeronautical degree course would mean that you understood PoF (for example) in detail prior to ATPL's, but is a 3/4 year degree really necessary for something you can do in your spare time over a month or two? (It certainly wont help ypu with HP&L, Met etc...)
Having said that, I would personally go to uni again in a second - for all the reasons discussed above (not going to repeat them all) but if nothing else I would imagine an 18 yr old airline sponsored student who has gone straight from school won't be as interesting to talk to in the cockpit as the 23 year old who has been to india backpacking etc...
And as to the employability of graduates v non-grads - I'll let you know if I ever get a flying job!
