I'm gonna break this down for ya'll. I got a 4 year degree at ERAU. After reading all these comments, some are very valid. First are foremost, I always thought the flying team was gay. They would were there shirts around school like they were bad asses. Seeing who can get a number out of a whiz wheel the fastest, or seeing who has the best pilotage isn't going to get you an airline job. In my opinion, the flying team was a waste of time but I did get a good laugh out of the guys who took it seriously. Even some of the profs at ERAU got a good laugh.
Is ERAU expensive? Yes. Is it worth it? Your d a m n straight - IF you take advantage of what it has to offer. One of the things I took advantage of are internships. ERAU has programs set up with a lot of differnet airlines, and many people that go through these internships get on with the airline who they previously worked for. Imagine going in to an interview with a major, saying you worked for this company, and having great contacts and letters of rec. You can't put a value on that stuff. But a lot of other schools have the internship programs set up, but I think ERAU has the most programs established (in fact I am sure they do).
Will you be able to land a job with just a ERAU degree? Hell no. Will it get you the interview? Fat chance. But if you do these internships, you have a leg in at some companies it would otherwise take very long to get to.
If I had to do it all over again, I would do a couple things different. I believe this is a great way to be on the fast track to a career at the majors:
Graduate high school, the earlier you can start flying the better. Once you graduate high school, go to a community college and take some general classes that you can transfer to ERAU (make sure to check with ERAU if these will be eligible - most of the general ed requirements are very easy to transfer, such as math, english, psych, economics, and so on).
While your in community college, keep doing your flight training. I would say a year of community college, going full time (summers too), and doing your training while at it. If the person has the right motivation, I think they can easily get Private - CFI in a year.
So now, you have about 36 college credits (4 classes a semester) and you have everything up to your CFI. All those certs and ratings will get you about 20 credits at ERAU. Now, you have 56 credits going in to ERAU, and you get a degree with 123.
Once at ERAU, take some classes (the aviation classes there are wonderful - in my opinion - I can't imagine topping them. VERY knowledagle profs). You will be focusing on aviation classes, since you got most of your gen ed done at community college (but if you were unable, finish those up).
Since you already have your CFI, you can instruct as much or as little as you desire while taking classes. If your on the ball, instructing and taking classes is not a problem.
Now the key is - do a few internships. As many as you can afford. When you do an internship at ERAU, ERAU gets $400 or so. Other colleges take a lot more. On most internships, you will have to pay for your food and lodging, but it is nothing compared to the benefits you will reap, both long and short term. I would say do three internships with major airlines. That is one year out of your life for three excellent opportunities. If just one works out, you've got a 30 year career at a good company. Since your going to be building your time as a CFI, I wouldn't waste my time with regional bridge programs.
So you have three internships, that is 18 credits (elective credits - of which you can only have 12). Add that to the 56 you had before and your up to 68. So 123 (credits to graduate) - 68 is 55 credits you need to take at ERAU (classes, all required to graduate). Thats about a year, taking 18 credits in spring summer and fall.
So that puts us at three years, but even if you slack you should be able to come in under 4. And that is with THREE internships. The gen ed and flying coming in is the KEY POINT. Your time now, hopefully, should be up to around 1200 (depending on whether you instructed during the internships - I wouldn't... enjoy them!) But I think your time is limited to your desire, there are always plenty of students, even if you have to instuct off campus.
Once you graduate, get a job at a regional, upgrade, then... remember that year of work you put in, well it will pay off soon. Apply at the companies you worked for and see what happens.
That is just my take on it. ERAU is a good school, and you can make it affordable by doing it right. Yes, you don't get the public school experience (you'll get laid later anyway)... but if you want a career at the majors, this is the way to go. Could you do this program with UND or Purdue, sure, it would probably work the same way although I can't speak on the internship programs at those schools, although I know they have some.
Hopefully someone in high school wanting a career in aviation will read this some day. I wish I had it laid out to me like this!!
Good luck!