A Federal Perkins loan is available to students with financial need to help pay for their educational expenses. Like other types of Federal educational funding, the Perkins loan is available at more than 4000 schools and universities Nationwide. However, because not everyone will qualify for a Perkins loan it is important to understand how your financial situation will affect your eligibility for this type of Federal funding.
The following are important things to consider when applying for a Federal Perkins loan via the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
All students wishing to apply for the Perkins loan need to fill out a FAFSA before the deadline for that academic year. Depending on your financial situation the FAFSA may take quite some time to complete. For this reason it is important to be prepared before you start filling out this application for Federal student aid. This means that you will need to gather documentation such as previous tax forms, employment records, bank records and other statements of income or assets. This information will be used to determine your eligibility for all types of Federal educational funding including loans, grants, Federal work study, and many types of scholarships.
If you are a dependent student, you will need to get similar information related to your parents. This is because eligibility for the Federal Perkins loan is determined by the EFC or Expected Family Contribution. This is a figure used by the United States Department of Education to determine based upon your family’s financial situation how much they should contribute to your educational expenses. The more financial need that your family has, the better your chances are for qualifying for this type of loan and getting the maximum award.
The Federal Perkins loan features a very low interest rate of 5% and payments are not due until the student either drops below half-time status, or graduates. For students with exceptional financial need, the maximum Perkins grant is $5500. For graduate students this amount is increased to up to $8000 per year.
Students studying in certain fields or performing certain public service jobs may be able to get their Perkins loan canceled under special conditions. In order to learn more about the Federal Perkins loan simply speak to a financial aid representative at your college or university.
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