There is a lot of things I've learned since I received my commercial that are impossible to learn at one of those programs. Just experiece related stuff. Different seasons and different geographical regions=different types of flying a school just can't do for you. Challenging and exciting it's all been. If I could do it all over again I'd follow my same path. One of my biggest fears is getting into a regional or airline one day and not being able to fly a 172 anymore with any type of skill. I know it sounds crazy but I have fighter pilots and heavy pilots come wanting to rent our 172 and you'd be suprised how horrible they fly it.