bananaman, the point of my comment about the OAT BA people wasn't to do with the fact that they were happy that they had got BA. Like you said FTE also have an excellent reputation with BA. My point was that these are the few people that have experienced both the FTE and OAT schools. And having experienced both they said they preferred OAT.
It all comes down to preference. Yes you do save money at FTE, however also remember that you get another 20hrs in a 737 at OAT, which isn't cheap. I found the JOC extremely useful and has prepared me well for sim checks.
If you want to spend a year in spain, but mix exams and flying then FTE is your place. If you want to get all of the groundschool out of the way (and trust me thats a good thing!!) and then have an amazing time flying in the US then OAT is your school.
Either way its a gamble, don't go to either schools expecting to walk into a job as 9/10 that isn't going to happen. Good luck with your career
