There are just as many numpties in Oxford, Jerez or Cranfield my friend. I've seen self sponsored Integrated student pour £70k down the drain. Mostly immature benefactors of deluded parents.
It was emphatically NOT my job as a flying instructor at Jerez to discourage this wastefulness as it provided the source of my monthly pay cheque and that of the managements. Some numpty with little aptitude no drive and a trend to laziness was the ideal student as they would invariably end up needing retraining for flight tests and extra ££ hours ££.
Large FTO's market their pre-selection testing as a means to ensure they produce quality graduates. What they don't mention is that the £30 test often emboldens all students to feel that they do have the aptitude and that they should not give up even if they start failing, struggling, not enjoying it and their instructor gives them some friendly advice to pack it in and stop digging with a gold shovel. Telling all your customers that they have passed a pre-selection test can be used to give them the confidence to keep on spending their parents money for longer.
Flying training is a shark infested pool of self interest and exploitation as everyone waits drooling for the next poor soul to stumble through the door with their life savings clutched nervously before them.
Hope that's cheered you up
Wingbar - have you thought about moving up from PPL training to CPL training? The large FTO's these days will take people with 1000hrs without batting an eyelid. Its a LOT more rewarding than PPL work and much better paid.
Keep your chin up,
WWW