There is of course no reason that those on an integrated course should be made to pay up front, other than the fact that the schools can get away with it and students are desperate for a flying job. I can see the benifits of an integrated course IF its a sponsored cadetship. The airlines get the product they want fairly quickly. This is fine if the airlines are taking the financial risk.
If the individual is taking the risk then I would remind them that there are probably as many schools that have departed the fix leaving students high and dry as there are succesful ones, and that even if the school remains solvent the completion of the MPL relies upon an airline taking them on at the final stage. Something like covid or 9/11 resulted in most airlines walking away from their obligations leaving the students to stump up again to complete a modular ATPL.