The bachelor degree is the tough way to go...and you'll likely need to learn all the apprentice stuff later anyway.
My degree was great for theory but included a lot of 'fuzzy subjects' like French Literature courses that never got used again. My training for field work, wiring, conduit, fusing, etc. came courtesy of my GE training (after graduation) and is what I use almost every day. In fact, I tell folks in all honesty that I learned more in those 12 weeks than I did in the preceeding 2 years.
Apprentice training, wherever you find it, is more targeted to stuff that you will be expected to know when you get in the field. Your JM will be able to explain why you dress line and load cables in a certain way, but he may get a bit miffed if you ask him how to measure for a conduit bend.
It's a great field to be in...hope it works out for you.
