I was lucky enough to make it into the regionals before this 1500 rule. I got a job with 292 hours...22 hours multi. I had a 4 year degree from Florida Institute of Technology and I was honest with the interviewer and he said that my honesty and educational background went a long way to giving the thumbs up on hiring me.

So if you have 1500 hours and a 4 year degree, I would say you have preference over a 2000+ hour guy (with similar flight background) that doesn't have the degree on his resume...