During this fall semester, we have reached a turning point for federal student aid funding. Because of our nation's historic economic downturn, we've already seen $30 billion cut from critical student aid programs. According to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), for the Pell Grant alone, New York funding in 2012-13 is $2.5 billion, more than 548,000 recipients, and an average award of $4,682 per student.
