I would recommend getting a few videos, Salle Dahmes has a good one. But you can watch all the videos, but getting your hands on a bloody, cold carcass (sorry to be so blunt) is completely different than watching! Call around to some local taxidermist and see if they could use some help part time. I went to a local community college to learn and wouldn't trade it. Money for money, IMHO it's the way to go. I spent less than $1000 and got as much as education as some of the $10000 schools.
Breakthrough taxidermy manuals, especially the mammal, are great. Taxidermy Today and Breakthrough magazines are also good tools. If you really want to you'll find a way.