Ok.... for another point of view....

Went to an aviation college, for me personally was the smartest thing I have done in my life. Things may not be the same now, but,

It, got me into the Air Force
It, helped get me a job at 2 Airlines (yes College discussion came up in the interview, and was told it specifically helped.

Of those that graduated my class and pursued a direct civilian career after college, over 3/4 were at Air Canada by the time I had 7 years in the Air Force.

Caveats, it was an Ontario college, where flying was paid. It (at the time) was a 2 year program, I paid rent (300/month to get a room in a shared house, total tuition was for the 2 years was under 5 grand. So not counting food for under 10 grand had a commercial multi IFR, from a college. Yes I know things are more expensive now, and said program is now 3 years, but still if I were to do it again, even not going into the military, I would go the college route in Ontario, hands down.

Would I go to one where I paid both normal tuition and for flying, no, in that case I would get the flying done from a good FTU.

Not, the commentary is free, and you get what you pay for, but good to have as many perspectives as you can.

I have seen Diploma programs out west where the "quality" is unbearable to watch.
CFI has no ATPL and airline experience. It's the blind leading the blind.
There is no subsidies, so parents (students) pay full price for a sales pitch.
In those cases, I would recommend Athabasca or Grant McEwen and get your Diploma by correspondence.

it was an Ontario college, where flying was paid

Ontario is a special case. If Dalton McGuinty wants to pay
for your flight training, I don't see how you can say "No"

If you have to pay for your flight training, I would advise
looking at an FTU and a correspondence degree.

Pay as you go? I don't think that's really possible anymore. At least on any job that the average young person would have, and try to live at the same time. It will take you so long, that you'll have to redo so much flying and end up wasting more in the long run.

Borrow responsibly and have a back up plan. I would never borrow 60k and then risk ending up on a ramp. Confed or Sault are some of the best options if you can get in.. Who cares if people think the diploma is useless, the training is still subsidized.

Edit: I see Sault/Confed was already mentioned above. In any other case, I would agree that all other aviation colleges are useless. Pay an FTU, and a trade for back up.