At the risk of veering off track alittle, also important is the chance of a first time pass.
Not only because of the financial benefit, but as I found out chatting to one potential airliner recruiter, he sifted applicants who passed first time, considering those who partialed has having 'failed'.
A school near me offers the 40 hour sim / 15 flying option, and has never returned a good first time pass rate.
The local examiner is of the opinion (and it is only an opinion, albeit quite an informed one), that because the students spend so much time on the sim, the school is turning out good sim pilots, which does not translate into good aircraft pilots.
The FNPT 2 does not have the same feel as the aircraft and does not run into the same problems, i.e. ATC issues, weather e.t.c.
Where the sim is good is to fine tune skills, practice procedures (especially the rarer ones!) and work on weak areas.
Ideally the mix should be with a greater emphesis on a/c time, and that need not all be M/E, as S/E maybe just as useful.
Yes more a/c time adds to the cost in the short term, but will save on re-test fees. I can't help thinking that some schools maximise sim time not only to be able to advertise a lower cost IR, but also to maximise their profits as the sims are are darn site cheaper to run and easier to make a profit on then a/c. This is not the best option for the student.