NJ boosting TAG awards more than $2,000 for some college students TRENTON – Around 68,000 college students in New Jersey will be provided larger Tuition Aid Grant awards in the coming year, under revisions to the program made possible by a $35 million increase in state budget funding. The changes don’t expand eligibility for the need-based TAG grants, but they do increase the awards across the board – including by more than $2,000 for some low-income students. In all, the state plans to spend nearly $473 million on TAG awards in the coming year. David Socolow, executive director of the New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, said it is a “historic funding increase.”