Mad Mothie,
the sad fact is that there are very, very few sponsorships available to wannabees post 9-11 thanks to those leeches* more commonly known as airline accountants. To make matters worse, you then encounter the ironic situation that of the few positions available most if not all will go to individuals who have gone to private schools, which will have assisted these individuals in attaining the necessary skills and qualifications to obtain highly paid employment allowing them to self-finance, or whose parents are willing and able to pay for the ATPL course. The result of which is that individuals whose only access to a career in flying is dependent on sponsorship are denied it by those who are in a position to self-finance it or have it bought for them. Until sponsorships are means tested this situation will remain.
But, hey, life's a bitch, you just have to make the most of it. After bursting your bubble I'll now try to re-inflate it. If you are an intellectual genius, with a great personality and fantastic work ethic, then you have got as much chance, if not more, of succeeding in a sponsorship evaluation as a silver-spoon-in-the-mouth type. If not, then all is not lost. There is always a chance that you may come into money - whether that be through individual effort or the National Lottery. 'Anything' is possible - you just have to assist 'Anything' with belief in yourself and a drive to get into the sky: take myself, for example, I was brought up by a lone parent in a rough part of Glasgow but it has always been my dream to fly. Now aged 30+ I find myself at what is the most expensive ATPL school in the UK ( surrounded by lots of young ones, all pretending they've got huge loans - "YEAH, RIGHT" ) and doing my best to live the dream. Sure, I'm older than the airlines' ideal profile but this being the only way I could have achieved it, they are just going to have to lump it. I'll be banging on each and every one of their doors until a door is opened....then I'll be in.
So, in essence, don't put too much hope on the sponsorship route, unless you really are VERY good, and don't look upon it as the be all and end all. There is more than one path into the cockpit but inevitably they will all require a large sum of money. If you are still at school, study hard and get good grades, then try to get a well paid job, unless you choose the university path ( the merits of both can be researched on this site), or even start your own business. If you have to then arrange a loan. It's a hell of an expensive game to get into, so go have a sit down in a dark room, go through all the worst case scenarios and ask yourself " is it really worth it ? ". I think it is.
Good Luck!
* my apologies to real leeches (hirudinea)