What are the tuition costs at each? Flying costs? Is he taking out loans, or are you paying for it (no debt)?

My go to answer used to be skip the aviation degree and I still lean that way unless you are paying cash (or 529)...then an accredited Aviation school could make sense due to the reduced hour requirement for your ATP. But realize you are paying a serious premium for that, which might be worth it, if you have the money.

Another option is FlightSafety Academy (also expensive) followed by getting his CFI, then instructing while he attends a traditional university and gets a degree in something else. The school he attends could be a local school or state school or Ivy League, doesn’t make a huge difference. The thing about that route is he needs to get the degree! So after training he needs to have discipline and carry his learning momentum straight to college.

If you or he are using debt for this, I recommend going to a community college for the first 2 years, then a state school for the last 2 and do the flight training at a local flight school as much as possible. Get a degree in a good back up or side career, maybe IT or business. Also he will need to work a lot to pay for it. He should also pursue every scholarship opportunity that he can. But I’m debt averse when it comes to this career (and life in general) so take my response through that filter. Folks will chime in with the exact opposite advice, which is fine.