Wow! Didn't know my post elicited so many responses!
As for my statement about flying losing its romance by the third sortie, well, that isn't my personal opinion. I've heard of those already in the programme who really dread going up to fly the next sortie each day. Makes one wonder why they signed up in the first place! But one has to understand that it's not all about enjoying the scenery once you've leveled off at TOC. There's a whole lot of hard work behind it too.
As for my personal experience, the wonder of being in command of an aircraft, be it in the C172SP or DA42NG, did not wear off all through my training. Granted, there were times the workload gets a bit too much, what with diversions, filling out the PLOG or briefing the correct approach plate. Nonetheless, I would never change it for the world (OK, maybe a hundred million bucks MINIMUM heh)!
Getting into this career involves a lot of sacrifices: foregone income, time away from family, not getting to celebrate festivities back home. In the event that one fails getting into an ab-initio programme (sponsored with a decent allowance), he or she has to really really really consider the options before embarking on the self-sponsored path. You might have heard of the joke: How does one become a millionaire? By starting off as a billionaire and invest in an airline! In our case, it's how does one become homeless AND penniless? By starting off with a home, then mortgaging it to fund your self-sponsored flight training.
It's no laughing matter really. You can just trawl around this forum and you can read about countless of determined individuals who funded their flight training with all the money they've got, only to end up without a job at the end of the day.
For those hopeful to get a chance into the programme in the near/distant future, prepare as much as you can for the interview. It doesn't matter if you can't answer all the answers posed by the captain/HR guy. Just make sure your enthusiasm shines through. And just another helpful hint: invest in a decent office attire WITH a nice tie. I've seen some candidates struggle with something even as basic as this!