What is a Perkins Loan?

Answer 1

A Federal Perkins Loan is a low-interest loan for both undergraduate and graduate students with exceptional financial need. A Federal Perkins Loan is made through a school's financial aid office. Your school is your lender, and it is made with government funds. You must repay this loan.

Your school will either pay you directly (usually by check) or apply your loan to your school charges. You'll receive the loan in at least two payments during the academic year.

You can borrow up to $4,000 for each year of undergraduate study, depending on when you apply, your financial need, and the funding level at the school.

No, there are no other charges. However, if you skip a payment, if it's late, or if you make less than a full payment, you may have to pay a late charge plus any collection costs.

If you're attending school at least half time, you have nine months after you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time status before you must begin repayment. This is called a "grace period." If you're attending less than half time, check with your college or career school to find out how long your grace period will be. At the end of your grace period, you must begin repaying your loan. You may be allowed up to 10 years to repay the loan in full. Periods of deferment and forbearance (see the next paragraph for more information on these terms) do not count as part of this 10-year period. Your monthly payment amount will depend on the size of your debt and the length of your repayment period.

Under certain circumstances, you can receive a deferment or forbearance on your loan. During a deferment, no payments are required and interest does not accrue. During forbearance, your payments are postponed or reduced. Interest continues to accrue, and you are responsible for paying it.

A Perkins Loan can also be canceled under certain circumstances, such as your death or a total and permanent disability. You also might qualify for having your loan canceled because of the type of work you do once you leave school.

If you serve in the military, repayment assistance (not a cancellation, but another way to repay) may be available. For more information, contact your recruiting officer.

If you have more questions about Perkins Loans, check with the college or career school you plan to attend.

Perkins loans are the type of Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program which offers low interest loans to students who need finance for their post secondary education. These loans are offered by private lender institutions, guaranteed by guarantors and reinsured by the government.

Perkins Student loans is the programmed amount of loans sanctioned by the US government. However there are times when a student gets late in applying for the loan, so they have to go for private loans. And the private loans for the international student becomes easy with no cosigner loans.