The questions you're asking have been heavily discussed on other pages, I know it's a lot of reading but you'll save yourself a lot of time in the end.
Yes it's true that you will have to sort out your own finances for a sponsored training scheme. The EZY MPL for example will cost 110k but I believe this includes the type rating. The only exceptions appear to be BA who will secure your loan and Air Lingus who will pay for the entire training including accommodation and food.
As for the 98% success rate I don't believe that they count the cadets that complete training but fail to make the grade for their holding pool. Also I believe those who are not selected by an airline and don't make it out of the holding pool after 2 years and are subsequently dropped from the pool are counted in that statistic.
I recently observed a cadet who was about to start training within a month asking CTC on their Facebook page about the how to ensure he/she made it out of the holding pool as quickly as possible. Personally I thought that was something you ask face to face before you sign on the dotted line.
CTC are great at what they do but there are a lot of half truths that come from their employees and cadets. If you don't ask the right questions they won't give you the right answers.
Good luck
Ps. I'm not a CTC hater just calling it as I see it.
