The Perkins Loan Program is a kind of federal student loan given to students based on exceptional financial needs. The Perkins loan is provided by the U.S. Department of Education to help American college students finance their post-secondary education. This program is particularly a very good option for students who are interested in public service.
Type of Loan
It is a subsidized type of loan, which means when you are enrolled in school, the federal government pays the interest on the loan.
How do I apply for the Perkins Loan Program?
Here are all the answers to your question: How do I apply for a Perkins loan. Follow these basic steps if you want to apply for a Perkins loan through the FAFSA:
- Before applying to the Perkins Loan Program, consult with the financial aid office of your school and ask them if they participate in the program or not. You need to meet all basic federal aid conditions to submit a FAFSA.
- There is no separate application for this loan so you can easily apply for the Perkins Loan Program by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at https://fafsa.ed.gov. Gather all the basic information that is required to file FAFSA.
The information you will be needing is given below:
- Social Security Number
- If you’re not a US citizen, you’ll need your Alien Registration Number
- Your most recent federal tax returns, W-2s, and any other financial documents
- Statements of bank accounts and investment records (if applicable)
- Untaxed taxation records (if applicable)
- If you’re sending a FAFSA online, you’ll need an FSA ID to sign electronically
- When considering how much assistance you may be eligible for, the financial information of your parents is also taken into account
- After you submit your application (FAFSA) online, you will be sent a report informing you if you are eligible for the program or not in almost three to five days.
- If you believe your conditions warrant a “dependency override,” in which your parents’ financial information is ignored (meaning you’ll likely receive more aid), you’ll also need to collect all the relevant documents to your special situation that would support your claims:
- Age, marriage, children, homelessness, military service, foster care, or legal emancipation are all included in common overrides
- Answer all the questions about these special situations honestly on your FAFSA
What are the Eligibility Criteria?
If all your ambiguities to the question of “How do I apply for Perkins Loan?“ have been cleared, let us talk about the eligibility criteria of the application. The eligibility conditions are stringent, but the loans themselves are flexible and come with a slew of benefits:
- Borrowers have a nine-month grace period, while other federal loans have a six-month grace period.
- Borrowers who work in the community after graduation are often eligible for loan forgiveness.
- It has a low 5-percentage-point interest rate, while many private student loans have interest rates that are twice as high as this loan.
How much loan can I borrow?
The amount of your Perkins loan is determined by the financial aid office at your school. The most up-to-date information on Perkins loan limits can be found on the Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid website. Visit this site to find out about the latest limit criteria for loans https://studentaid.gov.
How to repay my Perkins loan?
Unlike all federal loans, Perkins loans are issued by your school. This means you’ll repay your loans in collaboration with your school or a company hired by your school. Once you begin repaying your Perkins loan, it may be serviced by a different loan servicer than the rest of your federal loans. After you graduate or drop below half-time enrollment in school, you will usually begin repaying your loan nine months later. Perkins loans have a maximum repayment period of ten years.
Federal Loan Cancellation
Individuals who choose to work in a variety of public service professions, such as early childhood education, elementary and secondary school teaching, speech therapy, nursing, law enforcement, librarian, public defense attorney, firefighting, and some active-duty military posts, may be eligible for Federal Loan Cancellation on their Perkins Loans. Volunteers with the Peace Corps are also affected by this cancellation. Cancellation is usually done on a graduated scale: 15% for the first year, 15% for the second year, 20% for the third year, 20% for the fourth year, and 30% for the fifth. These percentages are based on the total amount of debt. After three years of service, a person’s original debt will be canceled to the tune of 50%.