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The Federal Perkins Loan Program is a loan program administered through the federal government. The federal government releases funds to °µÍø±¬ÁÏapp, and the Financial Aid Office packages those funds into qualifying students' award packages. This loan can be consolidated with any other federal loan program once the student leaves the College.

Please note: The Federal Perkins Loan Program has been discontinued and is no longer offered to new borrowers. This page is intended for students who have existing Perkins Loans and need information about repayment, deferment, or other loan services.

°µÍø±¬ÁÏapp uses ECSI (an outside company) to administer the billing and other services for this loan, which includes processing payments and all deferments or cancellations.

Terms and Conditions of the Perkins Loan

The Perkins loan has a minimum monthly payment of $40 per month, which may increase based on the amount borrowed, and repayment is scheduled over 10 years. The interest rate is 5% and there is a $4.00 late payment fee assessed for every missed and/or late payment. Before leaving °µÍø±¬ÁÏapp, each student with this loan must complete an exit interview and will then enter into repayment upon leaving the College. Once the borrower enters into repayment, they are given an initial grace period of 9 months. Additionally, the Perkins loan offers a grace period of 6 months after each deferment period.

Deferment Provisions

The Perkins loan program offers the following deferment provisions. Deferment forms can be found on the ECSI website as well as the Forms section of this website. During deferment, the borrower is not required to pay loan principal and interest does not accrue.

In School Deferment: The borrower must be enrolled at least part-time at an eligible academic institution.

Graduate Fellowship Deferment: A borrower may defer if they are enrolled and in attendance as a regular student in a course of study that is part of a graduate fellowship program approved by the U.S. Department of Education, including graduate or postgraduate fellowship-supported study (such as a Fulbright grant) outside the United States.

Unemployment Deferment: A borrower may defer for up to three years if they are seeking and unable to find full-time employment.

Economic Hardship Deferment: A borrower is entitled to an economic hardship deferment for periods of up to one year at a time, not to exceed three years cumulatively.

Internship/Residency Deferment: A borrower who is serving in a medical internship or residency program is eligible for an internship deferment for up to two years.

Temporary Total Disability Deferment: An affidavit from a qualified physician is required to prove disability. A borrower is temporarily totally disabled if they are, due to illness or injury, unable to attend an eligible school or to be gainfully employed during a reasonable period of recovery. Additionally, a borrower may receive deferment for temporary total disability of a spouse or dependent if the spouse or dependent requires continuous nursing or other services from the borrower for a period of at least three months due to illness or injury.

Public Service Deferment: A borrower is entitled to a public service deferment if:

• They are a member of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard
• They are a member of the National Guard or the Reserves serving a period of full-time active duty in the armed forces
• They are an officer in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service
• They are a Peace Corps or AmeriCorps volunteer or comparable service

Forbearance Provisions

Forbearance is usually a temporary postponement of payments. A borrower may alternatively request an extension of time for making payments or the acceptance of smaller payments than previously scheduled. Unlike deferment, interest continues to accrue during any period of forbearance. Forbearance may be granted to borrowers who are experiencing financial hardship, poor health, or other acceptable reasons, and may also be authorized due to national military mobilization or other national emergency. Borrowers must request forbearance in writing, providing supporting documentation of the reason for forbearance. Forbearance may be granted for a period of up to one year at a time but may not exceed a total of three years.

Cancellation Provisions

Up to 100% of the Perkins loan original principal amount can be cancelled if the borrower is performing a qualifying service in a specified area. Some qualifying areas include teaching, early intervention services, law enforcement or corrections, nursing, medical technician work, child or family services, military service, and volunteer service. For more information on qualifying areas, please use the Perkins loan information link above. A percentage of the loan principal is cancelled based on each year (12 consecutive months) of qualifying service. Deferments are given in one year increments for pre-cancellation services.

Discharge (Complete Loan Cancellation) Provisions

A Perkins loan (in its entirety or the remaining balance) can be discharged due to death or total and permanent disability. In cases of death, °µÍø±¬ÁÏapp must receive an original or certified copy of the death certificate. Total and permanent disability is defined as the inability to work and earn money because of an injury or illness that is expected to continue indefinitely or to result in death. The borrower must submit a physician's certification of total and permanent disability, certifying that the borrower is 100% disabled according to the Perkins Loan Program definition of disability.

Please note: a Perkins loan will not be discharged due to bankruptcy.

Defaulted Perkins Loans

We strongly encourage any borrower who is struggling to make payments to reach out to us before their loan reaches default status — we are here to help explore your options. If a borrower does default on their Perkins loan, the loan will negatively impact their credit report and the following penalties may apply:

• The remaining loan principal balance is accelerated, making the entire remaining loan amount payable immediately
• The loan is sent to a collection agency after acceleration, where the borrower will incur all collection costs
• The borrower becomes ineligible for deferments and cancellations
• The borrower will no longer be eligible to receive any additional federal financial aid for future educational purposes