Funding for graduate program at a non-FAFSA school

I did a search on this and only came up with an old thread that didn't really cover what I needed.

I'm wondering if anyone has any hints or advice on where I can look for funding for grad school. I was already accepted to West Dean College, but they are not FAFSA affiliated. I spoke with the financial aid adviser there and she said they are attempting to become affiliated with FAFSA, but it is a very expensive process for them and she doesn't know when or even IF the school will ever be in the first place. At this point it is incredibly unlikely that they will become so before I start in Sept. 2010.

I'm trying for some bursaries already through the school, but they have very few for US students. Since I have already studied abroad for two years in the UK, I'm not eligible for a few of the grants and scholarships I have already located.

Any advice? I kind of feel like I'm grabbing for cobwebs in the dark here

It looks like some kind of private institution, if it's this one: http://www.westdean.org.uk/

Anyhow, I have never heard of it....

What is it that you are wanting to study?

For undergraduate (Bachelor) degrees: http://www.ucas.ac.uk/

For postgraduate (Master) degrees: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Find_courses_and_research_gs/p!eefXfmd

If funding is an issue, I would look for a course in a subject at the preferred level (undergrad / postgrad) in the given links - they are more likely to be FAFSA affiliated or have other possible funding streams, IMO - good luck!   

I'm pretty sure the only thing you can do is get out a gigantic bank loan to pay for that school if it's not FASFA affiliated. I recommend looking at similar courses in other schools!

The only other thought is that it looks like their MA is affiliated with the University of Sussex, would you technically be a student there? (and therefore eligible for FASFA)?
My brother did a course that was affiliated with Brighton Uni and he was technically a student of Brighton Uni.

That Westdean is interesting, they don't have a .ac.uk domain, looks like they do a lot of random courses and just happen to have one or two MAs backed by Sussex Uni. They're not a university as such, more like a community college.

Thanks for the replies!

Mapleleafgirl - I already have my BA from UCL, so I'm after an MA. I am not considering other schools as I have already made a final decision (after long and hard thought and many questions asked of other conservators I know). MA programs in books conservation are very rare to begin with, so West Dean is my choice.

cheesebiscuit - West Dean College is really well known for paper and books conservation. I know it appears small, but it's nothing like a community college. It's really highly specialized and I will be going for the MA. I've visited it three times before (so I know it's not cheesy), and it was recommended to me by someone in the books profession.

I was also accepted to Northumbria, but it's not as good a program and the Northumbria program is in works of art on paper (so not as focused on books as I want). I've also been told that Northumbria has started to go downhill in quality, but obviously I would only know that for sure if I went there to study. There's a program at Camberwell, but I was strongly told by a current student of the program that it wasn't worth the money and I'd be much better off if I could get into West Dean (this was before I even applied last year).

They do award the MAs through University of Sussex, but I will be paying through West Dean. I spoke with the financial aid adviser last September (09) when I was over in the UK for my BA graduation, and she said there is no way to pay through University of Sussex (which I was sad over, because that would have solved my problem right there!). She said they've had a lot of problems with students from the US having trouble with funding so they're currently attempting to get a FAFSA code but do not yet have one.

They don't have a .ac.uk address only because they're primarily a foundation (the Edward James Foundation) that the school is a part of. It's actually a big estate.

I guess I'm going to have to suck it up and get loans the hard way, unless anyone else knows of a solution?