As of July 1, Utah students have to pay $1,962 to $2,362 more in college loans, according to a new report released by the research arm of the Campaign for America's Future.

College students and graduates will be pushed deeper into debt as interest rates on Stafford loans -- the basic student loan -- rise from 5.3 percent to 7.14 percent on old loans and to 6.8 percent on new loans at the end of this week.

Parents that take out PLUS loans to help their children pay for an undergraduate education also face rising interest rates.

As of July 1, rates on PLUS loans increased from 6.1 percent to nearly 8 percent for existing loans and to 8.5 percent on new loans, costing the average parent nationally an extra $3,000 and $3,953 respectively.

The rising interest rates come at a bad time for American families attempting to pay for college.

Tuition at the average four-year public university has increased by 40 percent since 2001, and nearly two-thirds of all four-year college graduates now have student loans.

Students and their parents are going further into debt, creating a burden that is often unsustainable.

This story appeared in The Springville Herald on page A3.