When I was a senior in high school, I remember thinking that there was no way I could afford college. I remember talking to the recruiters from the Navy because they assured me that they would help me pay for my education.

Looking back, I am thankful I had a counselor who helped me fill out my FAFSA (financial aid application), which allowed me to qualify for grants, scholarships and loans that made it possible for me to attend University of California, Berkeley – without having to sign up for the military.

Counselors are becoming a rare species in high schools and every year, many low income students face similar obstacles to getting the training they need to get a good paying job. Reflecting on the president’s Student Aid Reform, I was happy to hear about its impact locally.

Legislation attached to the massive health care reform package President Obama signed into law on Tuesday makes historic investments in higher education. It provides $36 billion for Pell Grants; $2.55 billion for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other minority-serving institutions; and $2 billion for community colleges to improve education and job training for unemployed and other economically vulnerable populations. The amount of money that would be available locally to community colleges is unclear because they are competitive grants, for which individual colleges would have to apply.

All this funding for higher education is the result of streamlining the federal student loan programs by ending billions of dollars in federal subsidies to private banks and lenders to make federal loans. Starting in July, all federal student loans will by made through the government’s Direct Loan Program, a more efficient way to deliver the same loans to students. More than half of the savings from this common-sense change will go to Pell Grants. That’s right, we just took billions of dollars from banks to give it to students!

For the first time ever, the Pell Grant will increase annually by at least the rate of inflation, raising the maximum grant from $5,550 to at least $5,975 by 2017. Although this is only a 10 percent increase, guaranteeing predictable increases in the Pell Grant will help ensure access for current and prospective low-income students.

Last year, students in the Peralta Community College District – Laney College, College of Alameda, Berkeley City College and Merritt College – received more than $16.5 million in Pell grants awards. About 50 percent of our students are low income and currently receive the Board of Governors – BOG – Waiver, which permits enrollment fees to be waived. However, not all BOG waiver recipients fill out the FAFSA, which is required for them to get a Pell Grant to help pay for living expenses. They are essentially leaving money on the table. Our job as an institution is to make sure we get all of our students to apply for federal aid they are eligible for.

Edie Irons of The Institute for College Access and Success, located in downtown Oakland, says that “this change will help clear up some of the confusion about student loans. Currently, you can get a federal loan from the bank or the government. But you can also get risky, more expensive private student loans from those banks.” Private loans are more like credit cards than financial aid, with high variable interest rates and few of the protections of federal loans.

“Now students will be able to tell the difference because federal loans will only come from the federal government,” she added.

The financial aid process should not confuse students as they seek the training and skills they need to find a good job after high school. This historic legislation will help make it easier to navigate the process and help make college possible for students and families struggling to afford higher education.