I'm pretty much with Genghis - at least his last post!
Pilots do not need degrees. At least, in the UK they don't. If you do a degree (whatever the subject), please make sure that you do it because you want to. That is, because the subject enthuses you and you get a kick out of learning more about it. Don't do any degree because you think you should do it; your likelihood of achieving a good (or any) pass is remote if you subsequently find the subject boring, or too much like hard work.
Degrees as a back up qualification is a thorny subject. In general, a degree can only be utilised as a back up if it has an immediate, practical, commercial (or professional) application. Most don't. As Genghis says, most degrees simply qualify you to go on learning. Also, 'back-up' degrees have a finite shelf life. If you wish to use your degree to get you into another field having failed to enter aviation, you will need to have maintained current knowledge pertinent to both your degree and your second choice of profession - and that's not easy if you're a couple of years or more down the line from graduation, particularly in science and engineering subjects!
Of course, other parts of the world have different requirements, but, in UK, wannabe pilots should do a degree because they want to, and for no other reason. The USA, as a contrary example, generally requires its commercial pilots to hold a four-year college degree, so the considerations in that context are quite different!
Scroggs