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With all the news surrounding the Wall Street Reform Bill, you may have totally missed another set of extremely important financial changes recently approved by the president. Back in March, President Barack Obama signed off on the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which calls for several modifications to the current student loan system that are taking effect this month. Here’s a look at what this student loan reform is all about and how some of these changes could affect you:

Peer-to-peer lending giant Lending Club has managed to capture 80 percent of its market by issuing more than $10 million in personal loans per month to prime borrowers — all of this after just turning three years old.

In a press release issued by the lender, it noted how much peer lending has grown. It notes that now, both lenders and borrowers feel good about the process as well. Creditworthy borrowers are now able to request loans of up to $25,000 and lenders feel comfortable making investments of this magnitude. The company hopes to continue its growth and extend more loans to deserving borrowers (PR Newswire).

On July 7, the Education Department said it would provide $25 million to help servicers of student loans meet new federal regulations administered by the Obama administration.

The department will make the money available to banks and other private financial institutions that have made or serviced loans through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL). The funds will be used to help the servicers retrain workers and deploy some to different companies that need to comply with the new federal laws, which stipulate that all student loans must now be made through the government’s Direct Loan Program and not private lenders (The Hill).

If you’re looking to help your children bypass the entire student loan process when they reach college, then lender Sallie Mae is offering a solution.

The Upromise college account is one of the best savings accounts available for helping parents of students from grades kindergarten through the college years to save for college. It works by having account holders shopping online among 750 retailers through Upromise.com. When you do, you can earn 1 to 25 percent of the purchase price in your free Upromise savings account while also taking advantage of hundreds of online coupons and free shipping offers (Market Watch).

Sallie Mae recently announced that it has helped 2 million customers settle past due accounts over the past year, which essentially avoided student loan default in the ballpark of $38 billion. The major student lender helped borrowers by repaying their loans for them, even if they were in default.

The efforts were said to have helped 14 percent of defaulted customers within its federal loan program to re-establish clean credit. For others, a temporary payment deferment was granted to give those struggling through economic hardship to get their financial situations straightened out (Business Week).

While Wal-Mart press isn’t always positive, they have been credited by some with keeping inflation rates low with their relentless push for lower prices. Now, they may save you money on more than laundry detergent and prescriptions. Soon, you may be banking at Wal-Mart.

Seem unlikely? It’s not as far off as you may believe.

There’s been a lot of talk about the financial reform bill and how it will affect Wall Street, mortgage loans and credit cards, but not a lot has been said about how it will affect private student loans.

According to the latest version of the bill, a new watchdog agency called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) would oversee financial products, including private student loans.

Cardratings.com recently conducted a survey to determine how many students carry student loan debt on their credit cards and discovered that a much lower number than expected actually do.

According to the survey, a total of 36 percent carry some or all student loan debt on their cards. While this number may seem big, the company determined that the 64 percent that don’t is very encouraging.

Starting July 1, several major changes took effect as a result of student loan reform, which was signed into law on March 30. The first is that federal student loans will now officially be made available only through the government via college and university financial aid offices.

A second change is that interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans will drop to 4.5 percent from 5.6 percent, while Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS loans dropped from 8.5 percent to 7.9 percent. Finally, for those who want to consolidate student loans originated before July 1, 2006, the consolidation rate is dropping to 2.47 percent (CBS Money Watch).

Who would think that among the other challenges students have to worry about, they could also become the victim of student loan scams?

According to a recent Wallet Pop article, those looking to take out student loans should beware of various scams con artists are using today. A few include the identity theft, advance fee, loan consolidation and debt elimination. With the economy still struggling to recover, many people are looking to make a quick buck. So learn more about these scams to ensure you’re not a victim. (Wallet Pop)