I can see both sides of the story. After training at the above mentioned about 3 years ago (when fuel prices were a bit more reasonable) I really couldn't have been happier with my training, I felt like a customer at all times. A lot of the time the students that complained about being part of the sausage production line were the students that had little or no drive to go far, and they are still floundering around to this day. Go figure
If I had my time again I wouldn't change the majority of things, but now being a tad wiser I see a few things that I would have definitely adjusted to save a bit more coin.
I spent just over $72,000 which got me my CPL, MECIR, NVFR, ATPL Theory courses and an Advanced Diploma. So not far off that $60,000 that someone mentioned, remembering that a lot of the country flying schools do not teach ATPL Theory, leaving students to go to somewhere like Maroochy and fork out up to 5k just to get those subjects. Also after working with and hiring new pilots at my last job, I found that the SOP's taught at GFS were second to none and were not evident in any of those pilots
So with that pointed out, I think ALICE and povo you should both open your other eye and see the pro's/con's of both. Each to their own.
GFS lead to my first job, something that another flying school most likely could not offer, and before anyone says anything, I did not Instruct.