As if finding a job after college wasn’t a daunting enough challenge, students constantly are met with the difficult choice of figuring out how to cover the external amenities that go along with school.

To cover four — or more — years of tuition, housing, food and course materials, many students are forced to take out loans — which sometimes can add up to thousands of dollars in debt.

This accumulated financial burden makes balancing a budget on a new graduate’s salary a despondent undertaking, but some relief to this problem might be appearing on the horizon.

In his proposed budget for fiscal year 2014, President Barack Obama has placed emphasis on improving the economic well-being of college students.

In his proposed budget, universities and aid services would undergo moderate changes tailored around lightening the financial burden attached to receiving an education.

Of these changes, the ones most likely to have an immediate impact include increasing the maximum amount of aid students who qualify for Pell Grants can receive, doubling the number of students eligible for the Federal Work-Study Program and limiting an increase on loan interest rates.

The president’s attention to college students is an encouraging sign, no doubt, but this news is not something to rejoice about just yet.

For MSU students who qualify for Pell Grants, the maximum amount they can expect to receive in the 2014 fiscal year will be about $5,785 — about a $140 increase. This money can be used to help pay for tuition, living expenses and the necessary materials needed to excel in their courses.

Although this slight increase is a step in the right direction, when compared to the increased expenses that soon will be imposed on students, it makes you wonder how helpful this aid will be.

Unfortunately for MSU students, the 2013 academic year will include some unforeseen adjustments. On Friday, the MSU Board of Trustees approved a 3.9 percent room and board rate increase — raising costs by $330 to $8,806 a year.

Coupled with the fact the percent of interest on student loans also is expected to double — from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent — by next year, it doesn’t take long to realize the small increase in aid some students might receive will disappear fast.

And regardless of what Obama’s intentions might be, his budget still has to be approved by Congress — which has seldom proven to advance education in this country. But that doesn’t mean this time won’t be different.

Creating a world where students don’t incur insurmountable debt to improve their futures is going to be uphill battle.

But it is something that can be achieved if steps — such as the ones specified in this budget — are carried through.