I have to agree with the above posters. Video editing is a very complicated software task and the motivation to invest the required work to develop the functional equivalent of the entry level versions of the big name products is minimal.
I do however have another suggestion. If there is a community college with a video production program you can take classes that give you access to professional software you can use on your own projects as well as school projects. Having an instructor you can go to with problems is a great help. Another big benefit is the academic discount program. I bought the full Adobe CS5 suite for $845. The retail for that was about $2600. You can also get discounts on entry level products.
