The terms for student loans just got a little better. According to an article by Kim Clark in the Chicago Tribune:

Now that the hype surrounding the government’s overhaul of the scandal-tinged federal student loan program has settled, students and parents seeking loans for the 2010-11 academic year are getting some good news: Many federal education loans will be cheaper, easier to get and easier to repay than they’ve been in recent years.

Yesterday the federal government reduced the interest rates on many education loans and now, of course, loans are made directly from the government to students, without the intermediary of a bank.

The House Committee on Education and Labor produced this video explaining the new rules. It’s admittedly an incredibly partisan (“The Democratic congress has made college more affordable!”) production, but it gives a good rundown of what’s changed financially:

As the video says, “now we can afford to be excited” about getting into college.

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Daniel Luzer is the news editor at Governing Magazine and former web editor of the Washington Monthly. Find him on Twitter: @Daniel_Luzer