Perkins Student Loans

General Loan Program Requirements
To qualify for this loan program, you must:

You might be ineligible for federal student aid if you have been convicted of selling or possessing illegal drugs. Call 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) to see if the drug conviction law applies to you.

Loan Program Description
The Federal Perkins Loan program is a "campus-based program," and is administered directly by the financial aid office at each participating school. Perkins Loans are low-interest (5 percent) loans for both undergraduate and graduate students with demonstrated financial need. Your school is your lender, and the loan is made with government funds. You must repay this loan to your school.
Your school will either pay you directly (usually by check) or apply your loan to your school charges by crediting your school account. You'll receive the loan in at least two payments during the academic year.

Loan Terms
The loan terms for the Perkins Student Loan are as follows:

Maximum Loan Amounts: $4,000 annually for undergraduates, $6,000 annually for graduates, $40,000 aggregate loan limit (depending on when you apply, your level of financial need, and the amount of Perkins Loan funds your school is allocated from the U.S. Department of Education)
Interest Rate: fixed at 5%
Maximum Loan Length: 10 years
Frequency of Payments: monthly or quarterly. After you graduate, leave school, or drop below half-time enrollment, you have a nine-month grace period before you begin repayment.
Prepayment penalties: none
Fees: none

Loan Application Process
To apply for this and any other federal education loans, fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). We encourage you to apply online, using FAFSA on the Web. This site will also tell you what information you need to fill out the FAFSA accurately.

Before you apply, you should request a PIN (an electronic access code number that serves as your identifier). A PIN allows you (and your parents, if they have a PIN and you're a dependent student) to "sign" your FAFSA electronically before it's submitted, which means the student aid process can be completed totally online.

FAFSA on the Web filers who are new applicants can request a PIN at http://www.pin.ed.gov . If you don't request a PIN, you can always print out, sign, and mail in a signature page within 15 days of submitting your FAFSA, but the application process will take longer. If you don't have Internet access, you can get a paper FAFSA from your high school, local library, postsecondary school, or by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243).

If you applied for federal student aid for the previous school year, you can probably file a Renewal FAFSA for the next year. Using a Renewal FAFSA means you'll have fewer questions to answer than if you applied with a new application, because most of the Renewal FAFSA will be filled in with information you provided on your previous application. You'll only have to update any information that has changed since and fill in a few new answers.

Loan Managing Agency
U.S. Department of Education