Just to go back to the distance learning thing for a second, make sure you put it on your CV if you did it that way. I didn't because I thought it might not fit the profile of the "team/group" orientated pilot (one gets paranoid writing a cv!). But many captains I've flown with were impressed that I managed all first time passes and >90% average on a distance learning course. I didn't realise at the time that so many people gave up on it and joined the full time classroom option.
As for OAT vs others... Yes they don't have as good a record as CTC. But their record is still pretty good for the APP. It's just not reasonable to expect guaranteed employment for the profession we've all chosen. No matter how hard flight schools try to recruit people with "the right stuff", not every graduate will have performed the way they were supposed to.
So yes you still take a gamble spending 100K. If OAT don't recommend you to airlines, you are probably worse off than if you went to a small school (read the posts on Flybe not selecting OAT graduates from the online application). But if you work hard and get the grades, the 100K gamble is very likely to pay off.
Different story if you go the modular way at OAT though. Less money to gamble, but:
1) You'd be foolish to think that OAT won't try harder to place APP guys (even if you have very good grades)
2) Some of the airlines who work with OAT simply do not take modular candidates, even recommended ones (BA being the most significant one).
Worked for me though :-)
P