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Applications for Student Aid Outstrip Resources

Oct. 27—Oregon students continue to apply for financial aid in record numbers even though the state’s main assistance program stopped awarding new grants more than two months ago.

Unemployed workers who lost their jobs after the grant cutoff date have been hit particularly hard. Thousands of people who applied for state financial aid to attend community colleges have been turned down because they weren’t able to file an application in time.

The Oregon Opportunity Grant, the state’s main need-based financial aid program, took an $11 million cut this year at the same time as the state’s soaring unemployment rate sent droves of people to college campuses seeking degrees or new skills. That forced officials to deny grants to anyone who filed after an Aug. 15 deadline.

But that hasn’t slowed the flow of applications. Dennis Johnson, director of the Oregon Student Assistance Commission, said more than 7,800 qualified students have filed financial aid applications since the deadline. No state aid will be awarded to those students, but they still can qualify for Pell grants and other forms of federal aid.

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