The study, which was conducted at Kansas State University, also said three times as many students are inclined to have suicidal thoughts.

"This study is based upon students who sought help. We saw approximately 1,000 students each year," Fred Newton, director of counseling services at Kansas State said.

Newton said the reason the study received national attention was that "very few people have done long term studies of college students."

Mary Anne Knapp, clinical social worker and therapist at the Center for Counseling and Psychological Services, said a third of the students seen at the Penn State counseling center have a diagnosis of major depression.

She said this number might not be that different than it was 13 years ago.

"We have consistently high reports of both depression and suicidal ideation among the students we see," Knapp said.

She said the high reports are a result of college being a stressful period for most people.

"College is a time when there is so much change going on and pressure," Knapp said. "Things get more ambiguous. You're supposed to succeed, but how? Students worry, 'Am I going to get a job?' "

Newton said although this study shows there is a high rate of student depression, it is impossible to tell if it is a result of higher societal pressure to succeed.

"Maybe students do have more pressures," Newton said. "We can speculate, but we don't have all of the answers."

Knapp and Newton both said there are many factors to consider when examining the statistics.

"The number of students taking anti-depression medications went up dramatically, but national pharmaceutical sales increased as well due to advances in science," Newton said.

Knapp agreed that the numbers might be skewed.

"The data on whether depression is increasing is mixed. Depression is identified more than it has been in the past," Knapp said. Medical advances and new knowledge make it easier to diagnose and treat depression. This causes the number of cases to appear to be rising, she said.

Some students said higher depression rates are a result of stress in the college years.

"I do think it's a more stressful time. There's a lot more competition," Lara Layeni (sophomore-nutrition) said. "Some people can't handle the pressure."

Alexis Davidovich (junior-kinesiology) said it is easy to lose your purpose in your college years.

"I feel that students feel like they don't have anywhere to turn," she said. "You're away from everything you knew before. College is such a big movement. It's easy to get lost."