SEATTLE — Finding money to send kids to college is getting harder, despite improvement in the state economy.

A new report from the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board says more students received financial aid last year.

But even more families aren’t getting the help they needed.

State officials and Washington families are expecting this year to be worse, because they see no relief from the steady rise in tuition.

Financial aid for in-state students has gone up 34 percent over the past three years.

But the growth in applications for financial aid for the same students has gone up twice as fast.

State officials say the number of students qualified for the state need grant, who didn’t get the money they needed, now totals about 25,000 students.