Roughly six thousand college students are paying close attention to what's going on with the state budget.
The longer the budget is at an impasse the longer those students will have to wait to find out if they get financial aid in the form of a state grant. Classes start next week and tuition bills are due.
The UW System's David Giroux says these students have tough choices to make. Take out more loans to cover tuition, start classes and hope the budget is far enough a long to unfreeze grants in time or worst case scenario not show up for college at all.
That in the long run, Giroux says is not in the best economic interest of the state. Wisconsin, he says, needs more students graduating from college not less.