As college campuses across the country struggle to carry on amid illnesses and outbreaks, a determined minority are beating the pandemic—at least for the moment—by holding infections to a minimum and allowing students to continue living in dorms and attend face-to-face classes.

After a lackluster inauguration, Maryland’s community college scholarship rebounded with an influx of applicants this year. But funding for the tuition-free program fell victim to the coronavirus pandemic as the state scrambled to cover the cost of combating the coronavirus.

Now, a program that barely registered with residents in its first year has nearly 3,000 people on a waitlist in its second—and $3.5 million less to spend.