Federal Perkins Loans

How Federal Perkins loans are awarded

A Federal Perkins Loan is a low-interest (five percent) loan that can be awarded to students with an exceptional financial need. This loan is money that is borrowed and must be repaid. It is not a grant.  The loan is made with government funds with a share contributed by Kingsborough. You must repay this loan to Kingsborough. To be considered for this loan, you must complete a FAFSA. These loans are awarded on a first – come basis so you are encouraged to file your FAFSA early. The amount that you could be awarded is based on when you apply, your level of need, and the amount of money that the school has been allotted for this program.

Award amounts

You can be awarded up to $3,000 for each year of undergraduate study with a maximum of $27,500 during your academic career. Other limits apply to graduate or professional study. You must register for and maintain an enrollment status of at least half time (6 credits or equated credits) to be eligible to receive this loan. Freshman students are not eligible.

Disbursement of Federal Perkins loans

Before a loan can be disbursed a student must complete an on-line entrance counseling session and complete an on-line promissory note. Loans are disbursed twice during the academic year (once each semester) according to a Financial Aid disbursement schedule. The on-line session is done through our billing service and any subsequent questions can either be directed to ECSI (1-888-549-3274) or the Federal Perkins loan coordinator at our school.

Repayment

 You are not required to make loan or interest payments while still enrolled in any school. After you graduate, leave school or drop below half-time, you are given a 9 month grace period before you must begin repaying your loan. At this point you must do an on-line exit counseling session which will again review your financial responsibilities and learn about your repayment agreement and repayment options. There are various options to repay this loan, however the minimum amount that must be repaid begins at $40.00 per month.

Deferment, Postponement and Cancellation

As you will learn during both the entrance and exit counseling sessions for   you can defer or postpone your repayments for a variety of reasons. There is also a section in both the entrance and counseling sessions where you will learn about the various fields of work where these loans have loan cancellation options.