SALEM (AP) - College students have drained Oregon's financial aid fund, and lawmakers are being asked to put up $4 million more.

The state set aside $72 million for aid this year. But when the economy turns sour, students typically turn to higher education in greater numbers.

More than 100,000 Oregon students who need help to pay for college are flooding the state's campuses this fall.

Applications for aid are up 18 percent in the state, about 7 percent higher at the universities and 23 percent higher at the community colleges.

Oregon doubled the money for college grants this year, increased the amount of each award and included many middle-income families for the first time. But it was not enough to meet the pent-up demand.

The Legislature's emergency board, which doles out money between legislative sessions, is considering the request for the additional $4 million at its meeting this week.

Carlota Araujo, who starts Monday as a junior at Oregon State University, looked at loans or attending a community college this fall before she qualified for the university's new Bridge to Success program.

She is one of about 2,400 low-income OSU students - 900 more than expected - who are getting free tuition and fees this year through a combination of state, federal and university money. About half those students also get help with books and supplies.

Araujo's mother injured her back over the summer and is out of work, so her parents could not afford to help her pay for college. The 20-year-old from Umatilla planned to work 20 hours a week in a dining hall, but it wasn't enough.

"Now that I have this scholarship, it's going to help me a lot this year,'' she said. "I didn't know what I was going to do.''

Oregon mounted a TV, radio and Internet ad campaign to spread the word about the additional grant money, which also helped draw more applicants.

OSU and the University of Oregon supplemented state and federal grants with institutional money to fill the gaps for low-income students.

Over the past decade, minority student enrollment in Oregon's seven public universities has increased slightly, but it remains below increases of minorities among high school graduates.

University officials say they also want to attract more students who are from rural areas and who are the first in their families to attend college.

"We really need to remove the barriers,'' said Kate Peterson, OSU's assistant provost for enrollment management.

Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com