WASHINGTON -- Since first launching on May 5, Credit Union Student Choice said it has already approved more than $1.5 million in private student loans.

Seven credit unions are currently live with their own college financing programs: Affinity Plus FCU, Digital FCU, NASA FCU, NuUnion FCU, Northwest FCU, Star One CU, and Wright-Patt CU.

According to Jon Jeffreys, CEO of Credit Union Student Choice, the reaction from members and potential members has been extremely positive.

"We started to see applications flow in immediately and they haven't stopped," Jeffreys said. "In fact, the volume has picked up significantly in the last week alone as members are becoming aware of their credit union's new solution. Interestingly, some of our first loans were actually from credit union employees who'd heard about the new loan product and were sold on its benefits before marketing had even begun to the larger membership."

The rising cost of college education has made paying for college a serious challenge for millions of American families, CUSC said. As a result, the private student loan market has grown over 450% in the past seven years alone. That growth curve is projected to steepen in coming years as the costs of attendance continue to increase at a dramatic rate for both public and private schools, according to the CUSO.