I agree on ruling out so called integrated courses, after having read numerous posts on here. I actually just got response from OAT that "fortunately" I didn't need to convert my american FAA PPL license, I could just pay the full price, and retake the whole thing with them for the normal full price!
I won't be getting a bank loan, so that's not going to be a factor.
I will definitely be going for a modular type of training, for the reasons you've listed, and the fact that I'll be able to "work" while doing it.
From the looks of things I guess my best bet is to try and shop for schools in UK offering modular training that will also assist me in converting my FAA PPL to a JAA one, and get out of the school I'm currently at ASAP. Wish I had known more before I disembarked overseas!
Oh, and by the way, *shockingly* enough the norwegian company that sent me here forced me to buy the ATPL conversion books prior to leaving, as it was a part of their package. I have 23kg of ATPL books (I think they're the Jep books) in a box back home, for the nice pricetag of $3500. Any chance I can use these at a later stage when I'm actually getting my ATPL?
For what it's worth, I spent $18.000 on the PPL here, and I was the first one to get it out of the 12 guys I started here with. When we first got here we were told it would be somewhere along the lines of $8000 (Yes, I do know that I have 12 or something hours more than the minimum, but good luck trying to sell 12 additional hours for $10.000).