A number of important changes are looming for federal student aid, which may save you some serious cash. Here’s a quick look at the most significant developments: Interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans are dropping — This year, they will go from a 6% to 5.6% (fixed). Under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of ‘07, the rate will continue to drop until 2011-2012, when it will reach an all-time low of 3.4%. Unfortunately, the lower rate only applies to loans taken out — or consolidated — in that academic year. Remember, with a subsidized loan, the federal government pays your interest while you are in school. Income-based loan repayment — I won’t bother rehashing the details, since I’ve covered them extensively in earlier posts. ...

It looks like the last two weeks have unintentionally turned in to the “Student Loan Hour” here at the Financial Aid Finder. Earlier this week, I covered the New York Times piece on student loan debt. Five experts sounded off on the question, “How much student loan debt is too much?” (Did you answer that question for our student debt poll on Tuesday? Please do that now if you haven’t already!) You might also want to check out the Times’ follow-up to their student debt piece, appropriately titled Student Debt, Fool’s Gold? There are hundreds of reader comments that painfully, at times, illustrate the naivety with which so many students take out tens of thousands of dollars in student loans. If nothing else, it’s an eye opening read. *** I ha...