Not sure about loans. I'm sure other folks can answer that one.

The ATP system does help you get hired. I question that it's worth the extra money as it's not all that hard to get hired these days, anyhow. I believe you can train anywhere, get your CFI, build up your times, and move on. It's no big deal. In some cases, you can get better training at a smaller school and still get your ratings pretty quick. Multi time is important and that's where ATP is an advantage, but there are other ways to come by that, too.

Some people have been saying train at a smaller school and then go to ATP for the CFI's and work there to get the multi in. That might not be a bad way to go.