The price of gas per gallon in Centre County is averaging about $3.66, and with experts predicting that prices will only increase, students' trips home and summer plans might mean empty wallets.

The price of gas may force Ashley Hechler (sophomore-accounting) to break out her motorcycle, which she said is more energy efficient.

"I'm taking summer courses at Altoona, and it's 40 minutes there and back," she said.

According to The Associated Press, paying for gasoline is now the top priority among families in America. Forty-four percent of Americans said paying for gasoline was a serious problem for them, and gasoline prices were most frequently cited as their top economic concern.

Dirk Mateer, a senior lecturer in economics, attributes the increase in gas prices to simple supply and demand. Right now there is a lack of supply but a high demand, he said.

"There is enormous price pressure, and where it stops, nobody knows," he said.

Some Penn State students can't name a limit to the amount they are willing to spend for gas.

"There is nothing I can do about it; I don't have any other options," Jill Butt (sophomore-nutritional sciences) said.

However, Mateer said he thinks there is a silver lining when looking at gas company profits.

"The profits gas companies are making now will encourage them to look for more oil in harder to reach places," he said. "High prices in conjunction with profit motives will encourage an increase in supply [of oil]."

Prices of gas increase as the cost of oil per barrel increases. Analysts are reporting that the price of oil per barrel could reach about $125 to $130. This could raise gas prices to more than $4 per gallon.

"The question of $5 per gallon is not whether it's going to happen, but when," Mateer said.

Mateer suggests public transportation and carpooling as the best and most immediate way to combat the price of gasoline. But he said that in the long run, people are going to be looking more into fuel efficiency of their cars.

Some students said this time of year may be the worst for high prices at the pumps.

"Gas prices affect me more during the semester months than the summer months," Anina Engle (senior-actuarial science) said.

Engle drives home just about every weekend, which adds up to $55 a week.

Other students were worried about vacation costs.

"I probably won't take as many day trips to the beach," Butt said. "It's not worth going if it is going to cost so much."