<p>According to the Chronicle of Higher Education (quoting the National Association of Student Financial Aid Officers (NASFAA) which in turn is citing preliminary U.S. Department of Education statistic)s, student applications for federal financial aid are up at least 20% for the 2009-2010 academic year over the 2008-09 figures for the comparable period.</p>
<p>[Applications</a> for Federal Student Aid Are Up So Far This Year - Chronicle.com](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/news/article/6090/applications-for-federal-student-aid-are-up-so-far-this-year]Applications”>http://chronicle.com/news/article/6090/applications-for-federal-student-aid-are-up-so-far-this-year)</p>
<p>Follow the links to the NASFAA-reported data to see information on numbers and volume of student loans. Federal direct loans are up 55% as measured by the number of loans originated, and up 54% as measured by loan volume. The bank-based Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) is also seeing substantial increases in both the number and volume of loans, on the order of 12-15%.</p>
<p>Detailed statistics are expected to be made available online in late March or early April.</p>
<p>Translation: even as financial need increases, many families are borrowing to the hilt to get junior through college.</p>