This past week, President Bush signed a bill adding $2,000 per year to Stafford Loan funds.

Yes, this is still a loan, but the interest rate is much lower than that of the private lenders (**Cough, cough thieving Sallie Mae**).

For the 2008-2009 academic year, students may need to contact their respective financial aid offices, so their financial packages can be revised to include the Stafford loan increase.

The bill, HR5715, is good news for students (and parents), who are suffering from soaring debt rates that have been reported in the recent months.

So, fellow students in loan debt (and for the newbies diving in for the first time), you will grudgingly take out the extra $2,000 dollars in (subsidized or unsubsidized) loans.