"Question, is Flight Safety Academy any different from DCA"

They are both very expensive compared to a smaller school that doesn't have fancy marketing and sales reps. I think FSA has a better reputation than DCA. The CFI ticket you get from FSA will give you the same privileges that you'd get from any school. FSA, DCA, PanAm, will all say their system turns out a better product and is thus worth the price. From experience, I think ALL CFI's are newbies and have a lot to learn. You might be a slightly better beginning CFI if you went to FSA but is it really worth it? Not in my opinion. The big academies talk about connections in the industry and job placement. Well, finding CFI jobs in this day and age isn't really all that tough.

Whatever you do, like I said before, be sure to talk to CFI's and students privately before you sign on the dotted line.