It'd be hard to choose a worse path than ERAU. With that kind of debt you can pretty much kiss goodbye any dreams of a comfortable standard of living for the majority of your working life. Read the "Key Alternative Loan & Bankruptcy" thread on the Money Talk board, and "Embry Riddle: to go or not to go" on the Flight Training board.
The consensus of those with actual experience and hindsight is that an aviation school, and ESPECIALLY an aviation degree, is a bad idea. Graduating ERAU with a degree completely useless in the real world, while starting your pilot career not making enough money to pay your $1000 a month student loan payments, is the worst possible way to get started.
ERAU is not well-ranked, and has low admittance standards (around 85%). You'll find its real-world reputation is a far cry from what you'd hear from its recruiting establishment.
Get your ratings at a local FBO, and earn an in-demand business or engineering degree from a respectable state school with an ROTC program. You said "aviation engineering," but I'm not sure if you mean aerospace engineering or aeronautical science. If it's the latter, you might as well get a degree in 14th-Century European Basketry. If it's the former, there are much less expensive, and equally if not more highly respected programs available at the better state schools.
By the way, there's no such thing as a 4-5 year commitment for air force pilots. The minimum service obligation is currently 10 years, not including time in training.
Last edited by Uncle Bose; 09-10-2006 at 11:23 AM.