Hi Arnold,
In my opinion, the advise you've been given so far is very solid & "conventional wisdom". Get a Degree. In Anything!. Also, if you transfer, make sure you know what will & what won't transfer BEFORE you get onto campus. Get the Registrar's office intimately involved in the X-fer process. Like you, I had a $ issue. I found a State University in Arkansas that offers a degree in Aviation. Henderson State U. in Arkadelphia, just SW of LIT about 40 minutes. If you wanted to finish up there, out of state tuition would be an issue, but as Av schools go, it is (was) dirt cheap. PM me if you think I can help you out.
Chuck