Well...im 21, i dont have a super rich family, but i have spent the last 3 years working my arse off building contacts and to save enough to start the training... was lucky enough to get a place on the CTC scheme. I still had to borrow the £60k tho, but what i had saved is now paying for me to live in NZ......
Loan wise, I believe many banks are tightning the purse strings at the moment, and unless you have some form of security - eg a house - then they are telling you to walk back out of the door (not sure if thats still the case, but its rumours out here).