Hey Scott Dutch,
I graduated last year with Beng honours in aeronautical engineering from Glasgow university and am now halfway through ATPLs. There are a few subjects Id say it definitely helps with both at PPL level and ATPLs such as performance and the aircraft general knowledge exams... though to be honest you still have subjects like Met, Air law, Operational procedures, Human Performance, Radio Navigation, Communications... all stuff with no relevance to aero engineering whatsoever that you need to just learn yourself. You might have an advantage with some subjects eg.General Navigation, .. and the other ones perhaps with some numerical calculations as your mind will still be sharp there, though to be honest from my point of view the maths, mechanics and aerodynamics/fluid mechanics covered in the degree goes far deeper than needed for atpl level.
If you've looked further forward to the full 4 years syllabus you might have noticed 3rd year you get a class called 'Aerospace Instrumentation & Measurement' which is quite an easy straightforward course ~ there I would say the opposite is true and that the ATPL Instruments material is completely different.
So yes, I would say the degree might help keep your maths/mechanics etc sharp and help out there, although not completely relevant to ATPL syllabus.
I would recommened joining the university Air Squadron, and also working towards your PPL over your years at uni too.. and most importantly have fun!!
Give me a shout if you want anymore info
C
