At Oxford
I'm an APP student currently at Oxford and I would agree with the assertion that Oxford marketing certainly lacks a degree of integrity. I can furnish one specific example of this. Before committing to any of the schools in early 1993 I visited most of the leading contenders.
When I visited Cabair I had a long 1-2-1 chat with a very friendly chap there who said to me that he'd seen many cycles in the industry over the years and he thought it would take some time for this one to play out. He recommended that if I could defer starting training until early 2004 (ie nearly a year) then I would probably be well placed in terms of hitting the recruitment upswing. I left that meeting deeply respecting both the man and the institution he represented for his honourable approach.
I was in touch with Oxford from 1991 through 1993 and every conversation I ever had with them when I expressed doubts about the state of the industry and timing my training they told me that if I started training then I would be finished in nice time for the coming 'pilot shortage'!! There's simply no need for Oxford to push this line - there are plenty of people driven by a deep seated desire to fly big iron and there's no need to feed people false promises to get them in the door.
In the end you may ask why I still chose Oxford. Well location was a factor, as were the facilities coupled with the fact that their notes are probably the best available. So far, I've been happy enough with my choice.
In the end anyone who wishes to enter this industry should use their own critical judgement to assess both when and where to train. Nobody can find you a job except you. The airline industry has been in a drastic state for over 2 years now and there simply haven't been the jobs there for Oxford or anyone else to point people to. That bit isn't Oxford's fault - but maybe a little more of the integrity Cabair demonstrated wouldn't go amiss.
Desk-pilot