BdubNYC, I was in the same boat as you. I graduated college with no loans owed thanks to my parents, friends had jobs lined up once they graduated and I knew I wanted to be a pilot. 4 years of majoring in another field than aviation and I still wanted to be a pilot. So then I was faced with your decision, FBO or Fast-track school. My problem was half-way solved right off the bat, FBO's don't have hiring partnerships with Regionals like a few fast track schools, as well as they don't have a set curriculum like the fast track schools, nor do they have a finance department that deals with banks on a weekly basis to assist you in getting the loan you need. So, I now needed to decide on a fast-track school. I did my homework, shopped costs, reputations, and hiring agreements, in the end I chose ALL-ATPS. Some people out there, on this board as well, may knock it for being a puppy factory, but I don't care. I was dedicated, as professional as I could be, and it got me where I wanted. They have have been doing this a long time and have a curriculum perfectly laid out and tweaked to get you all the ratings and flight time in the best order possible while saving money where you can. They have FTD's on site to practice your instrument training before you get out in the plane and waste time and money with trying to teach you everything in the air. They have you get your Multi add on to your private 4 days after showing up, so you log multi-pic the whole time you are there. The only advice I have for you besides going to a fast track is get your private from a local FBO and be one hundred percent certain this is what you want to do before you take a loan out for that kind of money. It blows my mind some people who have never flown a plane in their life and think it sounds fun and cool and show up at these fast track schools with a 60k loan and zero flight time, half of them bail. Get your private, see what kind of dedication it takes and make sure you have the bug still to get the rest of your ratings, best of luck in wherever life may take you.