I suppose my total training cost was about 50% to 60% of the integrated course, if an individual chooses to do the full time big bucks integrated route then that's their choice and if they get well paid employment with an airline before they have to start paying back the loan then the choice has paid off for them.
However there are plenty of people (integrated and modular) who do get a big loan to fund training and cannot find work after completing the course and the loan company want their money so they either have to find any job that pays enough to service the loan or they lose either their property or (even worse) their parents property that has been put up as security against defaulting on the loan.
My point is that self funding training is a massive gamble with your (or the loan company) money as the stake, and you should never gamble what you cannot afford to lose.
At least if you're spending your own money you know that a loan company is not going to come after you when you qualify and your credit rating is not going to get hammered if you cannot pay back the loan. Personally I cannot imagine the stress of committing to a huge loan and not knowing whether or not I would be able to find work and pay off the loan on completion of the course.
The paradox is that pilots are supposed to be risk adverse but in order to get qualified, many are taking the biggest and riskiest gamble of their lives.