Federal student loans are assured by the U.S. Department of Education. Government loans are not based off of the applicant’s credit. The rates are usually lower than private student loans but the annual payments of these loans are also smaller. Often federal or government student loans will not be large enough to pay for the entire amount of an education and students often find themselves needing more financing or other options to help pay for their education. It is important to know that the rate should not increase to more than 8.25% annually under the current processing system.Federal ConsolidationsOn top of student loans the federal government also offers federal student consolidations. Once you have graduated and your loans become due it can be an overwhelming experience, especially if you have not started to work in your field yet. Taking the time to do a federal student loan consolidation can help to lower rates, fees, and monthly payments. A federal consolidation will take all of your loans and condense them down into one. The rate is always fixed and there are often many discounts offered on top of the loan, like paying on time. Federal student loan consolidations are a great way to lower your monthly expenses and start getting out of debt from your education. With so many options available from the federal government it is important to take time to research all of the different varieties available. This will help to make sure you get the right loan for your financial needs.Changes in Student LoansOver the last few years there have been many changes to student loans. The federal government is taking on more and more student loans, often buying out private lenders. The reason for this shift is two-fold on one hand the Obama administration wants to make sure that college is available for more people and on the other the unstable financial climate is causing many private investors to pull their financing of student loans. In order to keep the entire system from falling apart the federal government has stepped in to purchase up these loans that no longer have a private investors backing. Although this solution is only supposed to be temporary, the change has made it easier to obtain affordable loans.The word is that more concrete changes will be coming and the entire system will receive an overhaul, but the way that will happen has yet to be seen. And with the current system still running as it has been there is really no way to know how and what this new system will do or change for students seeking financial aid. The long term issue here is if no changes are made and the government continues to filter money into a failing system it will only be a matter of time until getting one will become more difficult.