AP220Oxford,
Good luck in your phase 1 ground school exams, if you haven't completed them already. I remember feeling great about Oxford like you, but that was before I went to their 'fair-weather-base' in Tyler, Texas. I am beginning to entertain the thought more and more that really, the only thing that OAT excells in is their groundschool. The facilities are brilliant and they have first-class ground instructors. I am at OAT because I want to get my fATPL from arguably the best flight school in Europe with first-time passes. My cousin went to Cabair a couple of years ago and had a miserable time with laughable ground school and he has really suffered. Of course it is up to each individual to achieve on their own but having the resources there is key.
As for the fwb in Tyler, you will have fun but it will be very tight for any of your group to finish on time, in the 12 week schedule. My group went out on Sep 30th and we still have guys trying to complete the syllabus of 96 hours. Our phase 2 groundschool has been delayed. OAT have apologised for bad weather that they are not accountable for however the student-instructor ratio of 3:1 was never achieved for anyone. They've got nowhere enough instructors and there is a shortage of aircraft too. Having only one flight a day because your instructor has too many students is common. My group only had 13 in it. Imagine what it will be like for your group, which I believe is a lot larger. Oh yeah, remember that nice day-trip they mention in the brochure? Well guess what?
The instructors are great and very hard working. You will have fun and achieve everything you work hard for out there.