I can certainly see where MJ's coming from, but I'm uncomfortable with the idea that you might start a vocational degree in the life sciences as the means to a completely different end.
I'm sure there are a lot of unhappy doctors, pharmacists and opticians who have become professional pilots, but I suspect that these were people who started the courses with the best of intentions then found that they didn't like the job at the end of it. That's quite a different thing from starting your studies with the intention of leaving as soon as possible, and I think that this would risk turning out badly. My feeling is that you should go to university either to study something vocational, with a vocation in mind, or to study something that interests you for its own sake.
What is your likely level of debt coming out of university? In Scotland you might be better off, but in England/Wales with tuition fees at £9000 and living costs at least £5000 the gap between the cheapest university courses and the cost of becoming a flying instructor is not nearly as great as it used to be, especially when you factor in that it takes less time to get a frozen ATPL than a degree and you can spend the extra year and a half to two years earning.
The problem is more likely to be getting a loan and the risk of ending up with no viable job prospects and no degree either if things don't work out. Not every pilot finds work.
In my view, one of the major reasons to go to University is to broaden your horizons and hang about with interesting people from different backgrounds from your own. I don't know whether going straight into piloting does achieves this to the same extent. However, for the same reason I would look a little further away from home in terms of university courses if this is what you choose.
Last edited by abgd; 9th January 2013 at 16:03.