For the first time since 1984, the financial aid office will be unable to give summer work-study grants to all eligible students who apply.

Martha H. Homer, associate director of financial aid for student employment, blamed the recession, which made it more difficult for students to find summer employment on their own, for an increase in the number of work-study applicants.

Homer said that with a fixed number of summer grants, the financial aid office was unable to meet the increased demand for work-study money. She said that in most years the office accommodates all summer work-study applicants who receive financial aid during the school year.

"Supply and demand usually work out well," Homer said, "but not this year."

Homer also said that the shortage occurred despite efforts to increase the number of grants this year. She said the financial aid office "anticipated that there would be a greater demand, so they reduced the amount of the grant so they could give more out."

Students who waited a long time to apply found to their dismay that work-study grants had run out. Eric M. Chavez '93, who said he originally planned to stay at Harvard this summer and work in a lab with the help of a work-study grant, was forced to take a job at home because he applied after all the grants were allocated.

Work-study, a federally funded program, helps students on financial aid obtain work to help finance their education by paying a large percentage of their wages.

During the term, all students who meet certain financial guidelines are granted work-study pay. The financial aid office requires students to apply for summer work-study funds, however, in part because work-study can only be used at certain non-profit institutions and funds are limited.