Incidentally, by "Don't waste your time being taught bad habits in the USandA!", I meant don't go to some wretched JAA PPL puppy farm. If you
do go to the US, find a
good FAA flight training school and take your training there.
SoCal App, unfortunately the pace of many US-based JAA PPL puppy farms is such that they don't include
any ground instruction for the exams, or even allocate any time to sit them. Cheating in the exams has been known; even then, the exams are often marked by unqualified personnel....
But such practices will at least die out under EASA part-ATO.