Using teddy bears as pupils, Kimberly Rupp practiced teaching her stuffed students arithmetic and the ABCs. The Tech junior psychology major always dreamed of becoming a teacher.

Although enthusiastic about teaching since the age of eight, with graduation around the corner Rupp now faces the crushing realities of the difficulties involved with paying off student debt with a teaching salary.

?Ever since first grade, I?ve wanted to teach. My teacher had a large impact on my life and that?s something I want to do ? But, teachers don?t make a lot in the beginning years, and there could definitely be concerns about debts,? she said.

A report released Wednesday by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group confirms Rupp?s worries.

The report, ?Paying Back, not Giving Back: Student Debt?s Negative Impact on Public Service Career Opportunities,? found a dramatic increase in the number of college graduates entering the job market with a high debt.

?Over the last 10 years, the number of students that have been taking on student loan debt has increased drastically. And, the amount of money students are borrowing is much higher,? said Rose Garr, PIRG Mid-Atlantic field organizer.

Focusing specifically on two public service careers ? teachers and social workers ? the report concluded that nationwide, 23 percent of public four-year students with a starting teacher salary and 37 percent of public four-year students with a starting social worker salary possess unmanageable debt.

According to the report, unmanageable debt entails student loans that ?have a measurable and burdensome impact on (graduates?) lives and would like hinder their ability to pay for basic necessities.?

?It?s just costing more and more to get a college education. Increases in tuition and fees have been higher than inflation ? and we?re not seeing financial aid from the government at all,? Garr said.

The report explained that the recent trend of student unmanageable debt stemmed from several factors, including the new 6.8 percent fixed interest rate on Stafford loans, stagnant levels of Pell grants, cuts from Congress in federal funding and a weak job market. ?The situation is not getting better, it?s getting worse,? Garr said.

Garr explained that the PIRG study analyzed teachers and social workers salaries because both occupations serve public good often at the sacrifice of higher earnings.

In a state-by-state analysis of percentage of college graduates with unmanageable debt on starting teacher salaries, Virginia falls in the middle with 30 percent, above the national average.

?Although Virginia is not listed in the report as one of the top-ten states with high percentages of students with burdensome student loans, there is the potential that debt will deter high quality candidates from entering teaching in Virginia,? said Tech?s School of Education Associate Director David Parks.

Parks explained that high debts and lower salaries create a lose-lose situation for the state. ?Beginning teachers? salaries are low compared to many other professions, and Virginia has shortages in several teaching fields,? he said.

In order to address the dilemma, the report provided solutions to help curb student debt. While the proposed solutions ? increasing need based grant aid, specifically in the federal Pell grant, improving loan repayment policies for more fair and affordable financial situations and establishing incentives to control tuition ? fall to the federal government, Garr offered a quick opportunity to save graduating students thousands of dollars.

?The raised interest rate goes into effect on July 1. People graduating prior to that date should absolutely apply for consolidation under the current lower interest rate. That could save recent graduates lots of money in the long run,? Garr said.

While the study solely analyzed the conditions of student debt with starting teacher and social worker salary, the concern spreads to other lower-paying, social oriented occupations.

?The study only looked at teaching and social working fields, but you can absolutely extrapolate to other fields that aren?t in high paying but are important to communities ? We?re concerned that overall college graduates with loan debt are getting priced out of those fields,? Garr said.

Garr also raised other questions about the increased dependency on student loans.

?Education in society is supposed to be the great equalizer. If we?re pricing out students, we?re failing to make it that,? she said.