Try contacting the schools or lighting professors directly - arrange a phone interview,
express interest, and ask what scholarships their students typically come in with. The majority will be academic scholarships, I'm sure.
Respecting Footer's opinion on loans and the industry, it is possible to pay off loans and work, but the catch is how much you will make starting off. The
trap that my wife fell into was the loan consultant banked on her making a certain figure upon graduating, and the reality was it took her 5 years to get to that number. Student loans have a way to sink your finances, and should you choose college, do not take out credit cards just to get by. You are meant to be broke in college for a reason. Our
current student loan payments equal a second rent, and we're on a 30-year plan, so you can see where it can be very tough depending on the route you take.
That being said, different schools offer different scholarships for a myriad of reasons. There are also workships that you can get to supplement your living expenses, all depending on the program. I had a 3/4 academic scholarship based on grades for undergrad, and graduate school was completely covered including a living stipend. As schools have been impacted by the terrible economy and terrible lending practices, we'll all continue to see the methods of scholarships and loans change and never be "like the good old days".
It is really hard to answer all these questions moving forward, and like most
theatre majors, you probably won't be entering college as an independently wealthy
stagehand. If you have a list of schools in mind, go to their website, calculate the 4-year cost of tuition and expenses, plan on having roommates, plan on the costs changing, and make plans for summer work early. You can forebear loans for limited amounts of time after you graduate, and you'll often see people advise that you start making payments while in college (how to do that is not always explained). There is no way to know where you will be in 4 years at your age, so planning will be critical for future peace of mind. We're all here to help, too, even if it can seem discouraging.