By Sabina Rosu-Urdes

EUGENE, Ore. -- When it comes to going back to college, timing is of the essence for students who plan to apply for grants to fund their education. However, as many as 7,800 qualified Oregon students will not have a chance at state money specifically for filing after the August 15 deadline.

This news comes from the Oregon Student Assitance Commision at a time when the Oregon Opportunity Grant was cut from $68 million to $57 million and the state's double-digit unemployment rate sent many Oregonians back to school.

The commision is in charge of distributing the Oregon Opportunity Grant funds, along with other scholarships, and they say this year's number of applicants may be one for the record books. As a result, they had to push the deadline to apply for financial aid from November to August, hoping to avoid cuts to the size of the grants.

The change in deadline is particularly troublesome to anyone who lost his or her job after that date or didn't decide to enroll until later in the year. Four-year university students may actually be favored by the new deadline because they begin the admission process the winter before enrolling.

According to the OSAC, students who missed out on the deadline may still qualify for Pell grants or other forms of federal aid.