BillieBob, yeah, I am totally with you regarding the licensing part of SPIC vs PIC and 20hr limit, thanks for clarifying that.
However I still believe it would be more advantageous for a student to have logged as much IFR time as possible as SPIC even if some would not consider it as "true" PIC. Some might do and again even the regulation says it should be "at least" 20 hour SPIC. So I don't see why it would be harmful to have more. Ultimately my reasoning is that dual time is less PIC than SPIC you if know what I mean
. And for wannabes every edge and perceived advantage sometimes can make a difference.