PLEASANT HILL - Students seeking loans and fee waivers have flooded into college financial aid offices following sharp tuition hikes this year.

Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill saw requests for fee waivers more than triple from 971 last year to 3,373 as of August. Contra Costa College in San Pablo has seen an increase in students applying for loans. Cal State Hayward expects its surge as the Sept. 25 start date for classes approaches because more students than usual this summer sought emergency loans for living expenses.

"I think it's a tough time," said Brenda Jerez, director of financial aid at DVC, who worries about students who qualify for aid but aren't applying. "(Money) should not be an excuse for students not to attend the community college."

Community college fees increased from $11 a unit to $18 this year. The University of California and California State University raised fees by 30 percent this summer after a roughly 10 percent increase in December. Over the past couple of years, states across the nation have instituted double-digit school fee increases.

Undoubtedly, some students are reeling from the sticker shock and looking to financial aid to ease the burden, but other factors help explain why more people are seeking help. During sluggish economies, adults often return to school to acquire new skills. And right now there's a boom in the traditional college-age population.

Nationally, applications for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid program have risen by 8.9 percent to nearly 10 million, according to the U.S. Department of Education. In the past decade, the cost of college has risen roughly 10 percent a year nationwide, while family income has increased 3 percent, said Mike O'Brien, CEO of Financialaid.com in San Diego.

"Most state economies are in moderate to deep recession and that won't last," said Ken Redd, director of research and policy analysis at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators in Washington D.C. "The rate of tuition increases will slow down some."

UC Berkeley expects an increase of roughly 2,000 financial aid applicants over last year to 22,000, said financial aid director Cheryl Resh.

California waives fees for community college students who meet certain income criteria or qualify for federal aid. The income criteria is $27,150 annually for a family of four or $45,630 for a family of eight.

Fee waivers at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg doubled 849 last year to 2,149. Fee waivers at Contra Costa College in San Pablo nearly tripled, from 930 to 2,700.

The West Contra Costa school also has seen more students seeking loans, something the college is loath to facilitate because administrators don't want community college students starting their academic careers deeply in debt. Harsh economic times have somewhat changed that attitude.

"Our philosophy is changing because the cost of education is rising," said Mickey Mathews , dean of special programs and services. "We have to relax what we used to do ... We have to be realistic about how students will survive."

The college has had to extend its debt-management workshop from two days to three and move it from a small classroom to an amphitheater to accommodate students. The college saw 112 students take loans last year. As of last week, 120 had and Mathews expects many more to as the year wears on.

The high cost of books, which he estimates at $800 per student annually, is proving another obstacle to many. The number of Contra Costa students applying for book grants increased from 250 to 425 over last year, but the money available - $177,000 - has not.

Alicia Pickard, 19, is starting her first year at DVC and has found college a lot more expensive than she expected. She went to the financial aid office Monday looking, as she put it, for "any help I can get." She recently had spent $168 for two used books. She's taking a full course load and is looking for a part-time job so she can pay for car insurance and gas.

"I didn't expect to pay so much money for books. I didn't expect to pay so much money for classes."