Cost for a flight school? Work odd jobs to pay for it... that's what I did. It is a slow way to get it done compared to attending a pilot mill, but if you are young the time savings is not enough reason to pay twice what the ratings are worth. The difference in time is not that significant anyway. You can get all your ratings through FBO or university-based flying clubs in maybe 3 years realistically speaking, and I have seen people do it only two. It works well in parallel with college coursework.

When I was in college a couple of years ago I convinced one of my pals that he needed to become a professional pilot. He took me quite seriously, joined the Army as a warrant officer and has since achieved all of his ratings in a Bell JetRanger at Uncle Sam's expense. He is a smart kid, and I am impressed what he made happen.