Recession affects financial aid for college students - ALEX MULLER, Daily Record/Sunday News

From April 2008 to April 2009, Pennsylvania's unemployment rate jumped from 5 percent to 7.8 percent. In the same time, the national rate rose nearly 4 percentage points, to 9.4 percent, according to the United States Department of Labor. And local colleges and universities have taken measures to accommodate families under duress from lighter wallets.