Wall Street's credit crisis is reaching down to touch the lives of many Americans, including college students, who face rising interest rates and fewer lenders.

Mike Plant, a University of Maryland senior studying broadcast journalism, is staring at $75,000 in both private and public loans upon graduation.

"Paying back's going to be a lot tougher than it was five years ago, or even last year," he said.

Parents like Dawn Miller are also worried. She has child in who's a junior in high school and a daughter already in college. Her college loan was through Wachovia, which was swallowed up by Citigroup this week.

"We're scared like everyone else," said Dawn Miller. "We're waiting to get the letter from the bank saying rates are going up."

At the University of Maryland's financial aid office, officials are scrambling to ensure its 18,000 students get aid. But what officials are finding is a dwindling number of lenders as banks clamp down or leave the business altogether.

"We used to have 10 lenders on our lending list and now we have three," said Sarah Bauder, the university's Director of Student Financial Aid.

Bauder believes federally guaranteed loans are safe. But students holding loans from private companies could see their interest rates jump. And students seeking those loans could find themselves denied, she says.

"We have a $700 billion bailout," said Bauder. "We have all this money coming out of the federal reserve. There's going to be a ripple effect on the student loan market."

Some schools, including Georgetown University and the University of Maryland, have plans to become direct lenders in case more banks shut off the tap.

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