The national credit crunch is likely to squeeze local college students seeking private loans, officials say.

Private lenders have added new stipulations, said Willene Holmes, Augusta State University's director of financial aid. Citibank, for example, now requires students to have an annual income of $18,500 or have a co-signer with that size income.

"It's really difficult to say right now" how many students will be given private loans, Mrs. Holmes said Wednesday. "The number more than likely will be less this year compared to last year, but by how many is the question."

Last year, 154 ASU students received loans from private lenders, she said.

The issue is much the same nationally, according to Got Tuition?, a national public awareness campaign of the National Education Association. The campaign held a news conference this week to discuss the results of the College Affordability Survey and the effect of Wall Street problems on college students.

"(Federal loans) won't dry up, but so many families rely on the private market," said Kim Anderson, the issues advocacy manager in the National Education Association's Campaigns and Elections Department. "It's even forcing some students to drop out because of lack of funds."

Each year, about 400,000 qualified high school graduates don't attend college because their families can't afford to send them, according to the Department of Education.

The issue of college accessibility is one of national importance, said Andrew Myers, the president and CEO of Myers Research. Mr. Myers surveyed more than 2,300 college students, recent graduates and their parents in election battleground states.

"This is part of our economic debate," he said.

To curb the flow of jobs to China and India, the American public must be educated, Mr. Myers said.

The survey found that 63 percent feel the federal government should play a substantial role in assisting people in obtaining an education. It also found that 64 percent feel the middle class doesn't get enough help from the government to pursue an education.

The survey was conducted before the stock market's plummet, Mr. Myers said, so the need for assistance is likely greater now. Some students then had already chosen to give up their health insurance to pay for college.