In a move President Obama is declaring to be “one of the most significant investments in higher education since the GI Bill,” On March 21, Congress passed - alongside the blockbuster Health Care Reform Bill - the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), a passing that will ultimately do a lot of good for the country’s entire educational system. At its root, SAFRA is making it easier for students to apply for financial aid.

The bill will simplify FAFSA forms, create alternative loan and grant options, and most importantly, put lending in the hands of the federal government. But there’s much more. Read on to find out how the SAFRA will affect you, your government, and the financial aid officers you’re about to get to know a whole lot better than before. 

Though the economy has been showing signs of improvement in recent months, there’s still a great deal of evidence to prove that the majority of families across the country still need to heavily weigh the financial values of the colleges their kids are hoping to attend. The sad truth is that there are families out there that can’t afford to send their kids to the Harvards and Stanfords of the world, even if their kids are deserving of admissions.

Fortunately, Kiplinger Magazine has provided us with their comprehensive “100 Best Values in Public Colleges” cheat sheet.

The Chronicle of Higher Education just released its 2007-08 list of the highest paid private college presidents. Both private and public colleges increased the pay of their presidents during that year, however the new report shows that private college presidents are outearning their public colleagues by quite a bit. While only 1 public college president broke the million dollar mark in annual earnings, 23 private college presidents managed to do the same.

Since President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, on February 17, 2009, lots of money is going out from the Feds (with taxpayers fronting the bill, of course) to stimulate the economy.