They are taking profit about the low dollar rate.. alot of their customers are from outside the USA, do you really think they don't know what we are paying for dollars or PPL/ATPL training in the UK/Europe ? Oh yes, they do know it, they know it better than most of us know.
My personal view is to take some initiaton lessons to see if this is really the thing you wan't, learn as much as you can, and start going for it when you have enough money to do it in 1 time. If you wan't to go for an ATPL i don't see any use in getting a PPL first and waiting years and years before starting the ATPL, for the ATPL it's the same i would advise, crack your savings, start saving or get a loan like most ATPL students seems to do, and do it in 1 time.
Remember that at this time there is no shortage for pilots, there are still alot of pilots searching for a job. Flight schools haven't been so buzy since ages... there is a lot of competition studying at this moment!!!
A good thread is the one from Backpacker...i guess you have read it already
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=278995