I should point out that an aviaton degree is not "useless". I have a degree from an accredited four year University, but due to financial planning I'm less than 50K in the hole and the military is helping with the rest. I do live a limited lifestyle, but I still have fun, pay the bills and have money at the end of the month to put away. And I am a full-time CFI.
I get asked a lot by people if I think my degree was worth it and I say yes. Even if I leave the industry I still have a degree and considering how the world has changed over the past 20 years it certainly can't hurt. While I'm not qualified to be a bio-chemist or neurosurgeon many large corporations and government jobs just require a degree... period. Furthermore its very common these days for people to have a degree in one thing and work in an entirely different field. On top of that I am an enlisted reservist in the military, I'm considering taking commission after I finish my contract to be an officer and I have the hardest part (college degree) covered. It doesn't matter what its in, you just need the degree.
My previous employer (not part 121) also pretty much exclusively hired pilots with a Bachelors' Degree and most of those were from accredited 4 year aviation universities. Actually come to think of it (and I stand corrected on this if I'm wrong), but Doug mentioned that in the last class of DL new hires pretty much everyone had a degree... including at least one masters degree.
So what I'm saying is "jumping in head first" in the aviation pool with no prior planning or research to a private four year university to the tune of 200K is probably a bad idea... but with financial proper planning and strategizing and degree can definitely get you hired!