With more students defaulting on their loans than ever before, many Louisiana State U. students worry they may fall victim to debt after graduation.

According to the U.S. Department of Education’s website, the national student-loan cohort default rose from 7 to almost 9 percent since 2008, and in public institutions alone, the rate increased from 6 to 7 percent.

The Department of Education reported that as of Monday the percentages represent “borrowers whose first loan repayments came due between Oct. 1, 2008, and Sept. 30, 2009, and who defaulted before Sept. 30, 2010.” While more than 3.6 million students entered repayment between these times, more than 320,000 of them defaulted on their loans.

But this data does not include students who defaulted on their loans after the two-year period.

Emily Burris, coordinator at the University’s Student Financial Management Center, said she thinks students don’t recognize the amount of money needed to pay off the monthly note once they have finished college.

“My advice for students who take out student loans is first to make sure that you only take out what you need,” Burris said in an e-mail to The Daily Reveille. “When using student loans, you need to be extremely conscious of how you are spending your money and ways you can save.”

Sarah Featherston, kinesiology freshman, said she was forced to take out a loan after tuition increases at the University.

“My mom is a single school teacher, and since TOPS didn’t cover all of my tuition, I took out a loan this semester,” she said.

Featherston said she’s not sure if she will have to continue to take out additional loans in the future.

“It’s scary being 18 or 19 and taking out your first loan,” she said. “It makes you wonder if you’re going to be in debt for a while.”

Featherston received an unsubsidized government loan and must begin paying off her debt within six months after her graduation.

“If I can find a job after graduation, I think it won’t be a problem, but you never know,” she said.

Featherston said she worries about fellow students who are defaulting on loans.

“Not everyone is in a position to immediately pay their loans back,” she said. “LSU is also cutting back on the number of scholarships, and it’s really deterring students from wanting to further their education.”

Chris Purcell, political science sophomore, said he was also affected by the recent increase in tuition, which couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Purcell said he was unable to receive a larger loan this year, and he was forced to pay for the additional costs out of his own pocket. In order to cope with increased fees and an inflexible loan, Purcell said he was left scraping the bottom of the barrel to complete school.

“I had to take two on-campus jobs because this year my earnings from my summer job won’t last all the way until next summer,” he said.

Purcell said he hasn’t thought about how he will pay off his loans after graduation, but the number of students defaulting on their loans scares him.

“It shows how many [students] are having trouble finding jobs or are settling for unemployment,” he said.