The Perkins Loan provides loan interest student loans to help low to moderate income students finance their costs, while pursuing a post-secondary education.  The Perkins Loan is currently available at approximately 1,800 post-secondary institutions. 

In order to be eligible to receive the Perkins Loan, students must complete the FAFSA application, which takes into account the student family’s Adjusted Gross Income, total Family Assets, and other financial factors that impact how much a family is able to contribute to the child’s education.  Once you’ve completed and submitted the FAFSA, you will receive an award letter showing the total Perkins Loan amount you qualify for in the upcoming school year.

Undergraduate Students that qualify for a Perkins Loan are eligible to receive an award amount of up to $5,500 per year, which can be used towards tuition, books, and school expenses.  The Perkins Loan amount is determined by a calculation based on the FAFSA Application that was submitted for the upcoming school year.  Graduate Students that qualify for a Perkins Loan will receive an award amount of up to $8,000, which also can be used towards tuition, books, and school expenses. 

Students that borrow a Federal Perkins Loan can borrow up to $27,500 as an undergraduate student and up to $60,000, which includes all undergraduate Perkins Loans borrowed, as a graduate student.

Students that do decide to borrow a Perkins loan will have nine months after they have graduated, left school, or drop below half-time status before they must begin repayment.  This period of time between when they’ve completed or are no longer attending school to when they have to begin repayment of the Perkins Loan is called the grace period.  If a student has dropped below half-time status, students should check with their financial aid office to determine the exact grace period.

The Perkins Loan interest rate is fixed at 5 percent for both undergraduate and graduate students.  The Perkins loan is made through the school’s financial aid office that you attend, which means your school is the lender of the loan.  Even though your school issues you a Perkins Loan with federal government funds, you must still make repayments to your school and not to a federal government agency.

The school will issue at least two payments to students that qualify for a Perkins Loan.  Each payment will either be in a form of a check or direct deposit.  If a student has outstanding charges due to the school then the remaining money left after paying these costs will go to the student.

If you are looking for extra money for school and are considered low to moderate income then the Perkins Loan may be a great option for you.  The Perkins Loan offer very low interest rates compared to other forms of student aid and very friendly repayment terms.  It’s important to look at all student aid options before making a decision.