Ticket aid app status and thoughts

I applied the day it opened. The email I received said they hope to notify applicants within 8 weeks of submission. That was Wednesday. Has anyone heard back yet? The ticket page itself says up to 12 weeks, but I was optimistic it’d align with the email’s estimate. (Edit: got my approval!)

I also find it interesting that the BM IG page posted this week on their story that applications are still open through the 18th and to get yours in ASAP. Is this indicative of there being less than 5,000 applicants? If so, what does this say about the accessibility of BM and the population that attends?