The U.S Department of Education released a statement on its website declaring its website would not be updated and most employees will be on furlough in response to the government shutdown.

If the stalemate lasts beyond a week, college students might begin to feel the pinch.

According to MLive, the execution of Pell grants and federal loans will resume as expected, as those funds have already been appropriated.

"In the event of a government shutdown, we anticipate that there will be limited impact to the federal student aid application (FAFSA) process, to the delivery of federal student aid, or to the federal student aid repayment functions," the Department's Federal Student Aid section reads.

Many of those working on behalf of those grants, however, will not be at work as the government works to reorganize itself, according to mlive.com. Only 138 staff members who oversee government grants will still be active, making it difficult for students to attain answers to questions regarding their loans.

College students enrolled in federal programs such as Federal Work Study may also be affected by the shutdown, according to the Department of Education.

The longer the shutdown lasts, the more potentially dangerous the situation.

"A protracted delay in Department obligations and payments beyond one week would severely curtail the cash flow to school districts, colleges and universities, and vocational rehabilitation agencies that depend on the Department's funds to support their services," the Department of Education's states on its website. Indeed, the last government shutdown in 1995 lasted 21 days, as per CNN.

State University of New York (SUNY) spokesman David Doyle concurs with the department's time-sensitive message.

"Higher education is not insulated from the effects of a government shutdown, and while we do not know the full extent of the impact on SUNY, the severity will largely depend on the duration," he said in a statement to Long Island's Newsday.