By Angela Hatton
Murray, KY – The skyrocketing number of Kentucky students applying for and receiving financial aid has depleted a grant program a month earlier than expected. Becky Gilpatrick is Student Aid Branch Manager for the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority. She says the College Access Program (CAP) grant is exhausted for the 2009-10 school year. CAP is the largest Kentucky grant program at nearly 62 million dollars. Gilpatrick says the office received over a hundred thousand more applications than last year, but the award amounts remained the same. She says the aid is given on a first come basis, so those students who applied early had a better chance of getting an allotment. Students are still encouraged to apply for financial aid because the office has some money in other programs and students may be eligible.