Perkins Loans

If you are an undergraduate student with exceptional financial need, you may be eligible to borrow under the Federal Perkins Loan Program. The interest rate on a Perkins Loan is 5%.

Application for a Perkins Loan begins with filling out a FAFSA. Make sure to apply early; once available funds have been allocated for that year, additional awards are generally not made.

Perkins Awards and Repayment
As a full-time undergraduate student, if you qualify for a Perkins Loan, you could receive up to $4000 each year you're in school, with a maximum of $20,000. The amount you can be awarded depends on your financial need, amount of other aid you're receiving, and availability of funds at the institution. Unlike other types of loans, in which the lender is the federal government or banks, with a Perkins Loan, your lender is your school.

You will have the 5% fixed rate for your Perkins Loan, as long as you make your payments on time. Payments begin 9 months after you leave school, with up to ten years to repay your loan, depending on the amount you owe.

Perkins Loan Teacher Cancellation
If you receive a Perkins Loan and become a teacher, it may be possible to cancel up to 100% of your Perkins Loan. To qualify for cancellation, you need to be employed in a public or nonprofit elementary or secondary school as a:

• Teacher in a school serving low-income students
• Special-education teacher
• Teacher working in a field that suffers from a shortage of qualified teachers in your state, such as mathematics, science, or foreign language

In addition to meeting one of these qualifications, you will need to be a full-time teacher to have your Perkins loans cancelled and fill out forms with the school that holds your Perkins Loan.