Credit crunch cramps students too!

Even if we don't like it, students and parents have grown accustomed to the fact that the cost of higher education has, for many people, exceeded what can be covered out of pocket.

While federal loans help many people bridge this gap and are all but guaranteed to anyone who demonstrates needs, in order to make up the difference students, including myself, have taken to the private education loan industry in full force. Private education loans aren't guaranteed, but were readily available when I was a student several years back.

Now that the economy is in dire straits, lenders are facing cash shortages, and as a result it it is becoming tougher for students to get private loans, adding to the list of people and businesses facing a credit crunch. CNN tracked down Eric Hahn, a student whose lender, MyRichUncle, stopped writing private loans, leaving many students to scramble for a new lender while still trying to manage their class work.