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KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- In the current economy it's tougher for families to afford the price of college tuition.
    
The University of Missouri has seen almost 17% more financial aid applications this year than last.
    
We checked in with Financial Aid Director Kathy Elsea at Truman State University to see how things are shaping up this year.

“Our number of special condition applications just passed our total number last year.  For 08-09 we had 91 special condition applicants submitted, we have 92 to date and most of those are serious special conditions, job loss and layoff,” said Truman State University Financial Aid Director Kathy Elsea.

Elsea says the total filings for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA is up 20%.  She says it's not too late to apply if you haven't already.

Truman offers a new program called the “Investing in Students Fund” which provides more aid for students.  President Darrell Krueger began the fund in the spring and some alumni and families have contributed since then.

“We do have this fund set up for students who can apply if they've got critical needs.  It may be the difference between whether they are able to come back or not or whether they're able to purchase books or not,” said Elsea.