Totally agree, you can often pick based on attitude etc on day 1. However I have noticed the attitude's of pilots can be greatly shaped by where you did your early training and to that extent from your instructor(s) as well. I reackon in my humble opinion that in both of these regards AFS and Massey have a sh*tload to answer for! Therefore whilst anyone may overcome the 'handicap' of an upbringing at such a training establishment I still think the best way to go for a prospective student pilot is an aero club based effort where the chance of an instructing or CPL job may be on the cards at the end of it. Also being able to fly a damn aeroplane properly helps and that's another topic (admittedly done to death) that hinders AFS and Massey students.