Times may continue to be tough for the American economy, but we've found a couple of pieces of very good news for students worth sharing. Just click on the headlines to read the full stories.

• Streamlined Financial Aid Process Makes Money Easier To Get: "Bewildered and frustrated by all the paperwork required to get a student loan? You aren’t alone, and the federal government has taken notice.

"Beginning with the 2010-2011 academic year, the United States Department of Education will be introducing a process to help simplify the student loan application procedure. The Obama administration plans to request that Congress enact legislation to delete more than half of the questions presently listed on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In addition, the streamlined form will not require students to answer questions that do not apply to them. Currently, the FAFSA requires applications to answer more than 153 questions, and many people require at least several hours to complete the form."

• Rise in Private College Tuition at 31-Year Low: "The price of a private college education will rise less than it has in decades.

"Tuition and fees at Minnesota's private colleges and universities are up an average of 4.8 percent this year -- the smallest increase since 1978. Same goes nationwide, where tuition and fees are 4.3 percent more than last year. That's the lowest bump since 1972, according to a survey of 350 schools by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

"A survey released today by the same group shows that more than three-quarters of the schools have also increased the financial aid they're offering students."

Paying for college is still first and foremost in the minds of a lot of students and parents, but these are a couple of promising developments. For more advice and information, don't forget to check out Scholarship America's Online Financial Aid Resources!