There may be more financial aid out there than you think. We have a few things in common so I'll tell you some of the ways I financed by graduate education. First of all, my education actually involved several different schools between reentry and doctorate so don't necessarily expect that all these option are available at every school. Some things to check out;
1. Off-beat scholarship opportunities: If you can find a concerned, creative financial aid officer, it will help. If not, try to find some of these yourself. In particular, sounds like you should look for those aimed at women returning to school or reentry scholarships in general. I received several of these including one from Clarol (must be over 35, some gray in hair), Orville Redenbacher (over 30?, returning to school to prepare for a new career). I also received a license plate scholarship from the state. None of these were very big, but they all helped with book expenses.
2. It's a good idea to let your (prospective) department--as well as the university--know that you're looking for aid. If the MA is a terminal degree for their dept., they may have assistantships, etc. you can apply for. They may also know about some of the "hidden opportunities" I'll mention next.
3. There may be opportunities for financial assistance that won't be obvious until you are already enrolled in the program. For example, individual profs may have positions translating, working on a journal, working on archives of original documents, etc. . I occasionally hire a grad student for a few hours a week to help out with research. Some profs at large schools may hold chairs that allow them to hire one or more assistants. See what I mean? Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith!
4. There may be opportunities for employment around the university. You need flexibility if you're going to work and these jobs will have it. University employment lines are good, but they don't always list things like jobs in the tutoring center since they frequently require approval from the various departments. You may not usually think of some of the jobs at a university, but if it works for you, go for it. The young man who cleans my office was in my class last semester. He first got a job as a janitor here, then took advantage of the free tuition for employees. He planned it that way from the start since he knew he couldn't afford private school tuition.
Here are a few idea; hope they help. Feel free to ask me any questions you like and I'll try to respond. If you have different circumstances than I have assumed, post so we can give you better info. Good luck!
yes, the MA is the terminal degree for this program. i decided much too late that i wanted to go on to graduate school, so i missed the deadlines for a lot of better schools.