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Perkins Loan Overview: The US Department of Education gives a specified amount of money to each college or university. These colleges and university then give out the money in what is called a Perkins Loan.

Eligibility: In order to receive the Federal Perkins loan, students must meet certain requirements. Among these are: being a United States citizen, attending school no less than half time and enrolling at an accredited school.

Both graduates and undergraduates can apply for the Perkins Loan. The Perkins Loan is a wonderful option for students who are in great financial need because it only has a 5% interest rate. Plus, the government pays the interest during the time in which the student is in school and also nine months after graduation.

Applying: To apply for a Perkins Loan the student must submit a free application for Federal student aid (FAFSA). This can be done at FAFSA.com. The student may or may not receive the loan depending on the time in which they apply for the loan, their colleges funding capacity, and their level of financial need. The individual schools will determine which students have the greatest needs.

When the student is given the Perkins loan, they must maintain it. To do this the student has to show academic progress.

How Much Can I Borrow?: Undergraduates are able get up to $4,000 a year and $20,000 in all. Graduates can borrow up to $6,000 a year and $40,000 in all.

After You've Been Granted a Loan: After you are granted a Perkins Loan, you'll either receive a check in the mail from your school or you'll notice that credits have been added to your school account. The Schools will usually make two installments per academic year.

You'll never be charged fees for the Perkins Loan unless you pay late, miss payments, or only give partial payments.

To sum up, the Federal Perkins loan is a low interest rate loan available to students through their college or university. Undergraduates may borrow up to $4,000 a year and interest is not paid until nine months after graduation.

Being a college student herself, Elise Fisher loves writing articles that help students find ways to pay for their college expenses. In addition to this, she has created a website that helps students understand everything they need to know About Student Loans. To learn more about the Perkins and other Federal loan visit the Stafford Student Loans page.