Should we remain friends?

So my ex and I had been dating for 3 years, and he recently dumped me. We are both in college, and he told me we were both young. He told me after we broke up that he only has feelings of a really good friend for me. And he really wanted to remain my friend. So to recover I started doing NC.
Well we had a mutual friend, and I started hanging out with him, and because of that I'm in contact with the ex again. So I had a talk with my ex and I told him that I still felt something for him. I asked him why he wanted to be my friend, and he stated it was because I was one of the coolest girls he's ever met, and that he really values my realistic advice. I told him one of the reasons why I didn't want to stay in contact was because if I start hanging out with him as just a friend, he won't see me as anything else again, even if something was possible. He told me that we started out as friends before we were dating, so he doesn't see why we can't do that again.
I also asked him that day if it was stupid of me to keep a bit of hope for the two of us to reconcile, and he finally answered with, Don't stop your life for me. I mean of course I know that.
I also told him that if he started dating again, which I was sure he will, then it would hurt me a lot to see him and hear about him with some other girl. Thus another reason for my lack of wanting to be friends. He replied with "I'm not up to dating anybody right now. I don't even consider it, etc etc" So through most of this conversation, he doesn't even really look at me, or in my eyes, he kinda just stares out in front of him.

Basically during his first two years of college when we were still dating, he wasn't doing well academically, and his grades suffered tremendously. He ended up telling me when we broke up, that he really needs to do things for himself, and be independent. He said he really needs to figure things out.

I really do like him as a friend, but I also like him as something more. But I do realize, that right now, neither of us can really date (because of priorities I suppose).
So my dilemma is, should I still be friends with him? Does he really not love me like that anymore? And if we go back to being friends, is it really possible for him to see me differently later on? What should I do? What is he thinking? I'm not really understanding these mixed messages...

I doubt he's going to see you any differently later on. If he dumped you after 3 years of being together, I'd think he must have well thought over it. He no longer likes you that way. And sooner or later he's gonna date someone again and it won't be you. It's over between the two of you. It will never be like it was again. So forget his 'let's remain friends' crap and move on.