tell me how is this any different from having a 30k+ loan in your bank + interest to pay? Do you think guys who walk in with their "self-paid" TR get to just hit and run whenever they don't fancy something?
If you have cash on hand, by all means paying your own TR is probably wiser if you like to remain flexible, but for most of us - after completing the flight school and MCC we simply don't have 30k to burn.. if you're really pushed on your knees two years down the line and get a nice offer from ME3 or whatever, you can take a loan then and buy yourself out, what's the problem? Most of APC graduates will probably be reasonably happy with what they have and for those that wont be - taking a loan to buy yourself out when you have a seat arranged at a well paid position will be a wiser financial decision anyway - bigger salary - faster repayment, less interest paid..