Going to college can be expensive whether at a public or private university. There are costs for tuition, books, expenses, travel allowance and student health insurance. Not all parents or students can afford to pay for college expenses. Fortunately, there are federal loans available that can be used to pay for college. For example, there are Federal Stafford Loans, Federal Parent PLUS loans, Federal Graduate PLUS loans and Federal Perkins Loans. These federal loans are available to all students who meet the qualification criteria. The Perkins Loan, as well as the others, each have their own specific criteria.
Instructions
1. Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. to qualify for a Perkins loan. Eligible non-citizens can also qualify for a Perkins loan in some cases. For example, at this time eligible non-citizens who can qualify to get a Perkins loan include persons who are formally designated by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) as being individuals with an arrival department record (I-94) with any of the following designations: refugee, asylum granted, parole, or Haitian-Cuban entrant.
2. Plan to attend school at least half time. If you are male you must be registered with selective service if you intend to qualify for a Perkins loan.
3. Have no history of default on any student loan. Default is defined as missing payment for 270 consecutive days. If you have defaulted on a student loan, then you are not eligible for a Perkins loan.
4. Check with the financial aid office at the university you plan to attend in order to make sure that the university has a Perkins loan program. Not all universities have the Perkins loan program. Also understand that the expected family contribution to the student's education expenses must be extremely low for the student to qualify for a Perkins loan. The reason for this is that the Perkins loan is a need-based loan that is for students who have exceptional financial need.
5. Fill out a free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) no later than March 1 of the year that you intend to begin college. This is important because whether a student has sufficient financial need to qualify for a Perkins loan is determined by a federal formula using the information that the student provides on the FAFSA.
6. Complete both entrance and exit loan counseling at the college you will be attending. Entrance counseling is done before you receive Perkins loan money and is a pre-requisite for receiving the loan. Entrance counseling is done to inform you of your rights and responsibilities as a borrower. Exit counseling is also required for individuals receiving the Perkins loan. Exit counseling informs you of your options such as deferring payment of the loan, starting immediate monthly repayment of the loan, or cancellation of the loan under certain specific circumstances. (For example, you may not have to repay the Perkins loan if you choose to teach children with disabilities after college or if you choose to teach in a grade school or high school that serves low income students).
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