I think the above hit it on the head...Don't pay it all up front, and avoid RAA/Delta acadamies. I am unimpressed wholly by both, as a checkairman for my airline. If you have a degree, I would recommend flight safety or PanAm. I have had great results with people from those schools. Get your private by itself first to make sure you like the flying before buying a package.

You don't have to have a 4-year degree, but if you want to go to the majors it helps. We have several folks who do online/correspondence degrees while on trips.

Good luck...If you have more Q's that need more "direct" answers, send a PM