With the rising cost to attend college and the recent cuts in government funding, many students currently in college or about to attend have a big decision to make.

They must decide how they will fund their college tuition and books if they are not awarded enough scholarships or grants.

For some, student loans represent a necessary “evil.”

They are great for some students who have no other alternative and who cannot attend college without a loan, while they are bad for others who do not want a big debt.

Some students just cannot afford to pay housing, the cost of tuition and the sky-rocketing prices of books.

An increasing number of college students are turning to private loans to finance their education despite the risk of sinking deeper into debt as the gap between the cost of a college education and federal aid continues to widen.

The average cost of a four-year private college education has jumped by 43 percent since 1992, while federal loan limits have not increased in more than a decade, Sandy Baum, an economics professor at Skidmore College, in New York, said.

Baum is co-author of the “Trends in Student Aid Report,” which is published annually and sponsored by the College Board.

Meanwhile, there has been a private education loan increase of 45 percent among undergraduates and 51 percent among graduates.

The total volume of private student loans has now surpassed the amounts awarded annually under the government-financed federal student educational grants.

But while private lending has increased, it still only comprises 10 percent of the total student loan volume.

Student loans are an absolute necessity for the rather large group of people who are not able to rely on any exceptionally wealthy members of their family to cover the cost of the expenses they incur while getting a college education for them.

Even if you are not able to get any scholarships or private sources of money to be used for educational purposes, you can receive direct student loans from private and government sources and use these to pay for your schooling.

And in order to pay for that education, students cannot simply afford to pay for it while having other things to pay for since most students rarely work.

That is why student loans are a necessity for students who want to make it through college without leaving holes in their pockets.