The ideal situation would be to go to a community college AMT program at night while getting the hands on training during the day.
1. A community college program is much less than a private tech college. When I got my A&P I paid around 4 grand, while the guys on the other side of the airport at the private college paid $40k. Private colleges take some of that $40k and make really good commericals to snag the next sucker. Community colleges don't have the budget to market so nobody thinks to go to them, but the curriculum and the certificates are the same.
2. A structured program is good for getting a good technical foundation, ie. electricity, physics, shop math, etc. The hands on stuff gives you real world experience. In class you will do things per the FAA's requirements like rivet a perfect skin patch, or use every correct tool to remove cylinder. In the field you'll cut the B.S. and get right down to a functional repair. Both ways, the textbook way and the real world way, are good to know.
3. If you end up crossing the IA you're apprenticing under and they decide you ain't ready/don't want to sign you off to take your A&P tests, you're screwed and I've seen it happen. If you do a parellel community college program, you're sure to be able to take the written and O&P.
4. After you have your A&P, you can trade maintenance for flight time. I got through my instrument and commercial this way.
So if possible this would be the best way to go about it, in my humble opinion of course.