The fact is which you admit yourself the vast majority of the people who pay for the expensive course are not going to get any benefit from it.
So although not quite in the league of National lottery levels of risk the gamble of putting your family's and your own finical being onto a single number on the roulette wheel isn't a good bet.
If you get preselected and tagged the level of risk is reduced to an acceptable level.
But I know for a fact if any of the lower tier of the market airlines approached with a request for FO's or a cadetship they would get there arm bitten off to get some of the product placed. We could send a request to any of the schools even with salary's lower then you quoted which they aren't I might add, significantly more. And we would get the positions filled.
There is a colossal over supply of low hour's pilots in the market. And the taking of any premier course doesn't actually effect your risk level. Yes there are opportunities which you might get access to. But realistically the student has to be realistic about there chances. Are they going to be the lucky ones out of 300-400 that the gamble is going to pay off for. Or are they going to be the ones left on the street with a huge debt to service no flying job of any kind and watching the next batch coming out at which point they are immediately forgotten about by an organisation which has been their life for the previous 2 years.