Cheap/Free ways to obtain a CNA certificate?

Hi everyone! I am currently a pre-nursing student. I am taking A&P (my last pre-req before applying to enter nursing classes). I am also in desperate need of finding a part time day job that works around my school schedule, or hoping to find a graveyard shift full time job. My school has changed it's curriculum requirements to get into the nursing program due to so many student's applying and a shortage of instructors, and now pull students in according to rank calculated via point system, which includes experience in the health care field, GPA, and a few others. Aside from wanting to find a job in the health care field for the point system, I would like to get my feet wet in the industry first. It's a pretty scary thing to be investing so much education in a field that I'm not even sure will be for me. Another reason for wanting to find a full time job, is because our nursing handbook says health insurance is a requirement for clinicals, and I do not have any. So now my question.. when I'm searching around in the papers and such, most of the listings for CNA's require being already certified. I had heard that most nursing homes desperate for CNA's will hire you without being certified, and will put you through the courses later, but so far, the places I have contacted express their want for aides that are already certified. I can not afford the $800 my college requires to get certified.. are there any suggestions on how I can obtain a CNA cheap or free? Or are there other jobs in the health care field that would be beneficial to me that do not require being certified?

Thanks for your time in advance!