Once again the true colors of our economy show up at the worst possible time. Jobs are scarce, and even our parents are finding it difficult to help support us through school. Us as students, being the go-getters that we are, fill out form after form and apply for all the financial aid that we are eligible for. Never once did we think we would receive an “I.O.U” from the state, but that has obviously changed. I am referring to the WHEG, better known as the Wisconsin Higher Education Grant. Either you or someone you know has received a letter or notification on PRISM that indicates the amount of money that you may receive if funds become available. After receiving this update on my aid, I went to the business office to find out if the funds would actually ever come in. The answer was probably not. The total of my WHEG Grant came to $2,980.00. Money I will never see, but was completely eligible for. How did this problem of scarce funds come about you ask? The Wisconsin Higher Education Grant is a state-funded grant program available to eligible undergraduates who have demonstrated financial need. The amount of students has grown exponentially due to the fall of the economy which in the end has allowed more students to be eligible for the grant. There is only one problem with this situation: the pot of money used towards the grant did not grow as more students became eligible. Executive secretary for the higher educational aid board Connie Hutchinson stated that if there isn’t any change in the state assembly’s budget this year, more than 6,000 students will not receive aid in spite of being eligible. WHEG is a first-come-first-served disbursed aid program and has, in turn, placed students who applied after June 26 on a waiting list. Democrats, who currently control Wisconsin’s state senate, want to increase program funds to $50 million, while the Republicans, who control the state assembly, want to limit the funds to $39 million. Hutchison later stated that the board must operate under the assumption that funds will not be increased. For many students this means taking out more loans, or no college at all.