Actually, there are schools that will award college credit for FAA certificates. In many cases a student can get up to 36 credits for his/her flying experience.

Embry Riddle, Thomas Edison State College, Utah Valley State College, and California Coast University are some of the schools that will award academic credit for FAA certificates. So technically, your statement is partially correct; after finishing at "ATP," one can enter college with a healthy number of credits.

http://www.erau.edu/ec/wwc/awarding-credit.html/#asc

http://www.uvscaviation.com/

http://www.tesc.edu/716.php

http://www.calcoast.edu/specialized_training.php

Take care,

P