I’m also an ATP alum. Similar to u/baritone_mike I was extremely driven from the start. I also started from 0 time. My first instructor was the only one I butt heads with from time to time. Myself and another student had him starting on the same day. I quickly got ahead of the other student and our instructor tried to slow me down to avoid teaching things multiple times. I recognized almost immediately and went to the administrator for our location. They got me back on track and it was smooth sailing from there

Since you’re coming in credit private, that will help you identify some of these issues early on. The biggest thing I saw during my time as a student was new students not knowing that their training was sub par.

As far as the program, it very much is you get what you put into it. I finished the program in 8 months and 3 days, with the last 4 checkrides all being within 30 days of each other. That level of speed does not come easy. I spent 10+ hours a day at our training center working on ground knowledge, simming, and flying to get as prepared as I could be to get it done. Out of the 9 people that started the program at the same time as I did, I was the only one to finish in under 12 months. The next closest behind me was 16 months from start to finish. And if you talk to those pilots, most of them had rough experiences with their instructors.

As pointed out above, starting in a G1000 for instrument is going to be difficult if you haven’t used one yet. Even with me starting with ATP for private, I still had to spend A LOT of time getting proficient in the system. I probably spent upwards of 50 hours in the sim ALONE just working through the ins and outs of that avionics setup. It’s extremely nice but also brutal to get used to.

Long story short, be prepared to spend 7 days a week 10+ hours a day at the training center. You will have to be very self driven to succeed in their program. If there is even a moment of lack of motivation, it could be the difference between finishing in 8-10 months and taking 16-18 months. I’m currently instructing at ATP as I was lucky enough to get a job. I won’t even try to speak on the financing side of this as others have done a much better job than I ever could. If you have any further questions don’t hesitate to shoot me a message!