Money borrowed directly from federal government rather than from commercial lenders Austin American-Statesman, May 9, 2007 SAN MARCOS - Signing up for a federal student loan was a snap for Kendra Williams. She never even had to go into the financial aid office at Texas State University-San Marcos. Williams, who is on the hook for $5,000 and expects to owe as much as $15,000 to Uncle Sam by the time she graduates, said, "It was easy to do." It's easy for Texas State as well, according to officials of the financial aid office, who credit a program under which students borrow directly from the U.S. Department of Education rather than from banks, credit unions or other lenders backed by the federal government. "We cut out the middleman," said Mariko Gomez, director of student financial aid at Texas State. "I would definitely recommend it."  Only about 1,100 of the nation's colleges, universities and other post-secondary institutions have opted to participate in the direct loan program. That amounts to about 20 percent of the federal loan pie. Forty-one schools in Texas participate in the federal direct loan program. A sampling of participating schools: Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin; Culinary Academy of Austin; Del Mar College, Corpus Christi; Tarrant County College District, Fort Worth; Texas A&M University-Commerce; Texas State University-San Marcos ; and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.