Vortex and Ref+10, Generally I would agree with you, however I do think that in aviation, there is a lot to be said for being in the right place at the right time. If you were offered a flying job straight from school, then I would take it. A similar thing happened to me, I left Uni to get a sponsorship with BA, friends of mine finished the degree, then joined BA ,however, the Gulf war intervened in the meantime. Those of us already in were o.k, but some of the guys lost 3 years flying .
University is a great life experience, but if you fit the criteria for a flying job NOW, I would take it as there is no guarantee that the requirements/criteria wouldn't change in the future. You only have to see what has happened to BA selection criteria over the last 10 yrs. I would guess that a lot of people already flying for BA wouldn't fit the new mould.