D.C.
Hello AC,
I am majoring in the same field except I am trying to obtain my Bachelors right now and the problem that I am running into is because of the budget issues in california, grants and scholarships are no longer available. Right now I am attending a community college to finish up my GE classes and so it's relatively inexpensive ($20 per unit) and we were told that anyone who was awarded scholarships and grants would not receive them because of the budget issues. So unfortunately, private loans are the best option for my family and I and I know you stated that you wanted to stay away from those but with the way things are, it's either that or work for a company that will pay for school.
My husband attends Devry online and of course the courses there are accelerated but he's paying for those classes with student loans. I am not sure if working part time or full time for a company that will pay for your school is an option but I would look into that as well(i.e. The Art Institute pays for Masters Degrees for employees and I saw a part time job on the internet earlier this week, my sister in law works for the one in dallas and they pay for her school 100%). Unfortunately what i've come to learn very fast is that when we are trying to get our degrees, we have to do things we wouldn't normally do or don't want to do to achieve that goal and I am ok with that especially knowing at the end of the day I will have that fulfillment of obtaining my degree and accomplishing a goal.
I wish I could be of more assistance but the school funding is in such dire straits that there aren't too many options available anymore. At least in california, if you were to relocate to another state that has been hit less hard then you would be able to get grants and scholarships. Good luck in your endeavors and I hope you find everything that you are looking for. Please let me know how things go as I am also getting my degree in MFT.