ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The mess on Wall Street has given some college students a crash course in financial aid.

"Yeah I think a lot of people will be concerned, people need financial aid to get to school," says Monroe Community College student Geoffrey Morse.

Morse's college money is safe. He did not go through a private lender. Some families who did are scrambling to find new lenders after some private loan companies shut down. MCC's financial aid director says that may not be a bad thing. Private loans have higher interest rates and higher fees than government loans. Some students were turning to private lenders like credit cards.

"There are other options. It's a matter of examining the resources, look to the federal and state programs first. Above all, consult with the financial aid offices of the schools," says Jerome St. Croix, MCC Director of Student Financial Services.

St. Croix hopes with fewer private lenders, families will be more likely to get loans that won't leave them with a huge debt burden. But some families may be shortchanged.

"The federal and state programs haven't kept up over the years. The private loans became a vehicle of which students can try to meet their educational goals," says St. Croix.

The federal government just made it easier for students to avoid those more expensive private loans by increasing the limit students can borrow through federally subsidized loans.

St. Croix says all this could lead to better planning for college. He says families need to start early. As early as junior high school, and if possible, like Geoffrey Morse, consider less expensive schools, like community colleges.

"Instead of paying $40,000 a year, I can pay like $2,000 a year and get the same degree," says Morse.