I was in a similar situation a few months back, having been accepted at the UCE to do Computer Networks & Security, I decided to defer for a year, basically to get a little life experience, including a trip to Canada. During this period my interest turned back to aviation (lost interest 9/11, up until then being an airline pilot was all I wanted to do) so I decided to look around a couple of FTO's.
I then passed selection at OAT and went onto achieve my Class 1 and am starting AP258 27th Jan
I have left my deferred place at Uni in case all fails, however OAT's assessment has shown that you DO NOT have to go to Uni to become "mature enough" although for some people Uni might help and that knowledge above GCSE level is not necessary although A-Levels are preferred.
Realistically your looking at at least £20k of debt (perhaps even more after living in London) from going to Uni (not sure where you dreamed up £10k from??) By the time I have paid for APP, around £75k including accommodation and food etc + possibility of another £20k type rating another £20k of debt from Uni would be far too much.
So my advice would be if you think Uni really is necessary for you “to mature” and you can afford it then go, but at the end of the day it’s a lot of money to effectively waste (assuming you would want to go into management etc at a later stage) in deciding if being a pilot is what you want to be. I think if your heart is set on aviation, especially becoming an airline pilot, you have to be all or nothing, if you’re not absolutely sure, it’s a lot of money to waste for a non-transferable skill.
I welcome comments or corrections.
Jonathan