As has been mentioned, I found the sim to be useful only in a few cases, similar to those mentioned. Especially, trim is wildly different in a sim, and you'll have to figure out what to do about that.
The only place I really found it better than a real airplane was for instrument failures and other emergencies. You can do approaches faster, but only some of the issues are the same, and the dynamics go quite differently when hand flown. In reality, I had a much easier time in the sim than in a real airplane flying an ILS. The sensations are very differently disorienting in a real airplane, and I never suffered any disorientation whatsoever in the sim.
Your instructor is the authority here. The sim should satisfy a goal in your instruction.