Federal direct student loans have long been a salvation for many poor young students who don’t want their financial situation to hold them back from achieving something great with their careers. Now, let it be known that the program has seen its share of cuts under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, but while there’s less money in the program today than there ever was before, there’s still a lot of opportunity to be had should you be chosen to receive a direct student loan.

The program has had a rough history, though, and it might not be around much longer, so if you do qualify, don’t waste time. Take this loan out as soon as you possibly can. The bill barely passed congress, George HW Bush was hoping to veto it should he have won a second term, and while Bill Clinton defended the bill, every legislator since has made a political point of targeting it as “wasteful spending.”

If you want the numbers, it only took a few years for the budget behind the program to go from seven billion to a mere five hundred million. That’s 1/14th of what it once was. Yes, the program still exists, but at this rate? Perhaps not for long.

Here’s what you can do to seize upon the program as soon as possible: first of all, apply immediately. Don’t waste anymore time than you already have. Gather up all of your information, your papers, your letters of recommendation, credit and income details and so on, and get them ready.

Secondly, sell yourself as someone who hopes to do good in the community. A government employee who looks at an aspiring architect vs. an aspiring city planner will go with the city planner, because if you succeed, it looks good on their record. Don’t be afraid to kiss a little behind, that’s ten percent of getting ahead in your career.

But most importantly, act now. These loans are quickly drying up.