Chris - you said you prefer S turns to a slip ... my personal
preference would be to slip rather than turn , thereby continuing to
track my intended approach path. I have never felt that the aircraft to
be less in control in a slip...in fact , the descent is rather more
stabile.
Otoh , if I'm really high , I would first do S-turns to lose some
altitude , then come in somewhat high , and lose the rest using a slip.

Does anyone else feel the same ?
Any DEs out there - what would you say to a student who does this on a
PPL checkride ?

regards
Pavan Bhatnagar - student pilot.