Financial Aid Office

Perkins Loan

The Federal Perkins Loan program ended Sept. 30, 2017. The loan has a 5% fixed interest rate and can be repaid in up to 10 years. Interest will not begin accruing and the Perkins Loan does not go into repayment until nine months after graduate or after the student drops below half-time enrollment status.

Information for students receiving Perkins Loans prior to September 2017

The repayment and forgiveness options available for Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans are not applicable to Perkins Loans.

Perkins Loans may be consolidated with Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans.

Benefits

• One monthly payment: A consolidation loan combines the borrower’s eligible loans into a single loan. To learn how interest rates are calculated on Direct Consolidation Loans, visit StudentAid.gov/consolidation.
• More Repayment Options: Students having difficulty keeping up with student loan payments may choose a different repayment plan. By extending the term of student loan repayment, or selecting an individual payment plan that matches income levels and ability to pay, borrowers who participate in the Consolidation Program sometimes have lower monthly payments on the new loans.  It should be noted, however, that extending repayment terms also adds more total interest to the loan, over its entire lifetime.

Drawbacks

• Loss of loan cancellation benefits: If you are, or will be, a public school teacher, or if you teach math, science or special education subjects, you may qualify for Perkins loan cancellation. When Perkins loans are consolidated alongside other outstanding federal loans, the cancellation benefit is eliminated.