I agree a degree alone does not make a good pilot. I do see how having a degree might help make some people better pilots in terms of critical thinking skills. Furthermore, by the time someone graduates from college, they're older, generally more mature, and less reckless (obviously this doesn't work for everyone, but I think most people would agree it's true for the majority of people).

Lastly, I wouldn't want to go into the aviation industry without a degree that gave me more options. Why would I want to get a job for an airline just in time for a downturn, be furloughed, and not have a degree to do something else. I'd rather have a backup plan other than McDonalds.

While I don't think a degree is entirely necessary, I do see some benefits to having one for at least some people. Some of the discussions on this thread have been incredibly rude and closed minded, in terms of the value of higher education. Yeah, it's expensive most of the time, but my 4 years of undergrad were the best of my life, and I learned far more at my university - from academic learning to practical application - than I ever could have in any other environment.