A friend of mine is a pilot for AA and he went to Purdue.
I have friends who are commercial pilots who all took different routes. One went to USAFA, did his 5-6 years in lovely places like Tulsa and Enid, and left to join United. Been there 25+ years.
Another went to North Dakota and joined American Airlines, but in order to get enough seniority (was always bumped by military trained people) he and his wife lived overseas for 7 or 8 years, I think in Italy and Greece doing short commuter flights. Heās now (and has been for many years) a captain. Absolutely the career he wanted.
Another friend did a hodgepodge of things; he had a non-aviation degree from a UW so I think just took pilot training separately. He never got a job he wanted (permanent pilot) but often had jobs like flying for UPS at night.
A doctor I know always wanted to fly, so got a commercial license in his 40ās or 50ās and he flew private flights for a charter service, while still being a doctor. He liked that a lot, except he had to shave his beard.
Lots of ways to do it. Some better than others.
Iād be a little cautious looking at what people did more than 10 years ago. Things have changed, and will change again. The mainline airline (domestic US) for which my dad flew paid for him to get his training and paid him while he was in training. I donāt believe any of the major airlines do that any more, so it isnāt a useful strategy for a potential pilot today.
The military has even more stringent health (including vision and hearing) restrictions than does the FAA. Additionally, it is very competitive, and many aspiring pilots donāt get selected ā but youāre still committed to service.
Has the OPās son looked into opportunities (even as a teen) with the Civil Air Patrol?
University of Dubuque in Iowa https://www.dbq.edu/Academics/OfficeofAcademicAffairs/AcademicDepartments/Aviation/
Kansas State, UIUC, Purdue off the top of my head. Purdue was the base for the Playboy private jet so there 
Kent State in Ohio has an aviation program as well. Not too expensive either from what heard from other pilots
Dowling College has a program too -
I am a private pilot and frequently chat with charter (for NetJets, etc) and corporate pilots. The vast majority love what they do I mean, flying is really cool, your clients are typically āsomebodyā The veterans liken it to being a limo-driver but they are flying a $30M-$50M limo. Obviously, there are short notice trips and time away from the family and low pay to start. Many moonlight as flight instructors to make ends meet as they carry debt from their training.
Learning to fly and building hours to qualify for a commercial job is absurdly expensive. A private certificate alone (here in CA) will set you back nearly $10k. An economical plane rents for >$100 an hour - and you need thousands of hours to qualify for good jobs. Do the math yourself. Thatās why so many are military trainedā¦ For most people it isnāt feasible without some sort of subsidy.
Another consideration, pilots at all levels are also subject to periodic Medical exams. It is very possible to loose your flying privileges (temporarily or permanently) due to an injury or illness at any time. What will you do if youāve spent $50k- $100k on training, you canāt fly anymore and you have no other skills?
If my kid were interested, i would encourage to pursue the military or to get a BS in an engineering discipline that would allow them to work in the aviation industry while earning their license and flying for personal use.
Here in CA. UC Davis actually has their own airport and offers students a great deal on flight training, SJSU is very close to an airport and does the same. Get the kid up in the air but, take advantage of the university to earn a degree that will allow him to earn a living for many years to come.
Although my professor husband retired more than 10 years ago, I just checked the website for the Community College of Beaver County to see more recent info on its professional piloting program. When I worked at CCBC thirty years ago, the program brought in students from all over the state and quite a few from out of state. The school has many articulation agreements with major universities, including Embry-Riddle, Florida Institute of Technology. It makes sense to attend a low tuition school because the flight hours are expensive.
I think that San Jose State University has a program in it.
Sorry for the late follow-upā¦I initially gave my perspective as a military pilot, but wanted to add some insight to the civilian approach that I gathered from many of my coworkers. Which, in my opinion, is a much harder roadā¦Most (if not all) major airlines require a four year degree, but a degree in aviation is very limiting. Especially when you consider the cyclical nature of the industry which can pretty much be summed up as āhire until you fire.ā Many of my friends have been down this roadā¦So I would consider going to the cheapest school you can afford and getting a degree in something other than aviation. After that you can enroll in an accelerated program to get your pilot ratings. For example āAll ATPā (with schools nationwide) has a program that will get you all the way to your Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) rating which is the required ticket to get considered for a job with the majors. However, it will cost you $60,000 to get it, and there are NO guarantees. First, you have to be able to get and maintain a FAA Ist Class medical. Really not that demanding (no where near as demanding as a military physical), but you still must pass. Secondly, you have to gain experience. What All ATP offers is a chance to be a flight instructor for them, earing peanuts to build time to eventually get your multi-engine ticket. After you have achieved 1,500 hours you can get your ATP, however, no major carrier will hire you with the minimum. So you will have to go work for a commuter (think Delta Express or United Express) for a little more than peanuts ($30,000) as a copilot first and hopefully build enough hours to upgrade to Captain quickly. Because what airlines really want is multi-engine pilot in command (PIC) time; and the more the betterā¦So, how long does it take to get there? It depends, but I would guess at a minimum five (probably more) after graduating from college. And hopefully the airlines are still hiring then, because as I said in the beginning, this industry is very cyclical. In addition to all of the above, the advances in drone technology will eventually give way to unmanned airplanes (yikes!) To be perfectly honest, I would not encourage my kid to be a pilot unless he truly loved flyingā¦YMMV
A concurring viewpoint:
My son was originally accepted to ERAU Prescott in 2007 as an aeronautical science major. We hammered away at him until he switched his major to aerospace engineering. Good thing, because when he went for his 1st Class Medical prior to leaving for school, a congenital vision issue was discovered that, even after an FAA appeal, prevented him from ever qualifying for the med certificate and becoming a commercial pilot. So he decided that if he couldnāt get into space as the pilot on Virgin Galactic, then he could do it as the engineer. Of course, 8 years later, heās in a totally different field altogether, but we are all glad that he didnāt limit himself to the commercial pilot program.
St. Louis University also has an aviation science program. Both SLU and ERAU allow non-aviation science students to also take flight thraining through on-campus programs. But at least back then, those programs were must more costly than non-degree flight training.
Delaware State University
http://www.desu.edu/sites/default/files/u725/Aviation%20PP%20Curriculum%202013.pdf