Wow, 3 years since I went to ATP and the same arguments are being made! Awesome!!
Trust me, get over a year experience at the Airlines and you'll forget all about ATP and their crappy program, then you'll realize the whole idea they paint in your head about the Airlines is a joke. And the agreements with airlines? Thats a marketing joke too.
The quality of training you get at ATP is DIRECTLY related to your instructor. I got lucky and had GREAT instructors when I did the 10-month program. I felt like my instructors gave me some great ground and air instruction. A lot of people I know got stuck with CFI's who were lazy and never lifted a marker on the board.
I agree with Bobbyduck, you can't blanket all of ATP instructors. I had good instructors and I tried to pass that on to my students as well.
Looking back, the experience I had at ATP was preparation enough to fly a Beech 1900 in the Northeast, but my
first job on the 1900 is where I REALLY learned to fly.
Where you get your training is such a small part of your career. I'd opt for a really good instructor at a local school where the price is much cheaper. I used to advocate for ATP until I got some experience at the Airlines and realized that ATP was mostly just marketing hype. The multi time helped me get the first job, but I feel kind of stupid for not trying to get the stuff done cheaper.
Now I'm getting furloughed and still have that loan from ATP.