As college costs continue to rise, more students turn to federal financial aid to fund their education, the Associated Press reported.

According to data released Tuesday by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), part of the U.S. Department of Education, 71 percent of undergraduates have some type of financial aid. Four years ago, that number was 66 percent.

Rates of students accepting loans and federal grants are up across the board. 42 percent of students received federal grants, up from 28 percent, and 40 percent took out federal loans, which was an increase of five percentage points.

While federal loans and grants were mostly on the rise, state and institutional financial aid remained mostly static.

"I think these last four years were very tough for states, and certainly we weren't surprised," said Jack Buckley, NCES commissioner.

The new data figures come on the heels of President Barack Obama signing into law a major change to federal student loans. The recent bipartisan bill represented a compromise between Republicans and Democrats on how to handle federal student loans.

While Democrats wanted to keep the rates down, Republicans wanted to tie them to financial market rates. The rates will not fluctuate as the market changes, but will change at the beginning of the academic year depending on market rates.

The bill will help students now, as the loan rates will remain low, but it will not fix the rising cost of college. According to the NCES, the average yearly cost of in-state tuition for community colleges, public four-year schools and private four-year institutions rose six, five and four percent, respectively.

"Increasing federal student aid alone will not control the cost of college," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said. "All of us share responsibility for ensuring that college is affordable."

Perhaps one of the major contributors to the higher cost of college is expense after tuition. According to a recent survey by the College Board, the cost of room and board, meal plans and textbooks match and even surpass the cost of tuition at various colleges. The survey also took transportation, supplies and other expenses into account.

Duncan said the NCES' report "is a reminder that we need state policymakers and individual colleges and universities to do their part in taking action against rising college tuition."