Your friend's dad is most likely out of touch with what is going on. If you go to Riddle, you'll spend 200K on a worthless Aeroscience degree.
Going to Riddle reduces the time you need to get an ATP and will get you the possibility of internships at airlines, maybe even a major, but so will other state schools. You really must get a practical degree outside of aviation in order to have a fall back when airlines furlough and go bankrupt. The 80+ history of airlines is furloughs and bankruptcies.
There are other university programs out there that offer much better value in aviation. University of North Dakota is a much praised program, for instance.
https://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/atp/