Aired July 26, 2010 at 5:27 PM
By Lena Vargas, KEPR TV

TRI-CITIES-- So many people are asking for financial aid, that the financial aid office at CBC will be shut down for three weeks to deal with them all.

CBC estimates a 20 to 25 percent increase in the number of applications from last year.

The financial aid office actually merged with the student employment office to share some of the work load. Daphne Lightfoot says about 12 students came to check on the status of their financial aid in the first hours the financial aid office was closed.

"It's nationwide. It's not just at CBC. And I know it's a huge number. But people want to come back to school. It's just when you don't have work and there isn't a lot of work out there, people go back to school," said Lightfoot.

For right now, you can drop off financial aid applications in a locked blue box outside the financial aid office and check the status of your paperwork at the student employment office.