Federal Perkins Loan

The Federal Perkins Loan program is no longer available as of September 30, 2017, as it was not extended by Congress.

The Federal Perkins Loan is a campus-based loan program, which means that GW is the lender.  GW utilizes Heartland ECSI as the servicer for this loan program.  HECSI will handle billing, collection of payments, deferment and cancellation requests and all inquiries.  When you graduate, you will be asked to complete an exit interview, which is a requirement for any federal student loan.  Specific information regarding your repayment schedule and the terms of your loan will be available to you through this process.   You may also review general terms of repayment, which are available below:

More Information

Interest accrues at 5% simple interest on the unpaid balance once the grace period expires.  No interest accrues while the student remains in school on at least a half time basis.

You are entitled to a grace period of nine consecutive months following your separation from an institution of higher education. No payments are due during this period and no interest accrues. Repayment starts after the grace period ends and continues monthly for up to 10 years, excluding periods of deferment.  You will receive a bill approximately 20 days before each due date. You may prepay your loan at any time without penalty. If you are planning a career in the military, the Department of Defense may have a program to help pay your federal loans.

Specific information about deferment and cancellation provisions is contained in the Master Promissory Note.  In addition, you may view the deferment and cancellation provisions for all federal student loans on the Student Aid website.

As a federal loan, the Perkins may be consolidated with your other eligible federal student loans through the US Department of Education once you have graduated.  Information on consolidation may be found on Student Aid website. 

Students were eligible to receive Federal Perkins Loan funds through September 30, 2017 under the Federal Perkins Loan Program Extension Act of 2015. Absent Congressional action to reauthorize the Federal Perkins Loan Program, the program expired on 9/30/2017. Federal Perkins Loan disbursements are subject to the following terms and conditions of the Extension Act:

  1. The Extension Act of 2015: The Federal Perkins Loan Program Extension Act of 2015 was signed into law on December 18, 2015. The Extension Act authorized institutions of higher education to award new Perkins Loans to eligible students through September 30, 2017.

  2. Use of Loan Funds: You could only use your loan funds to pay educational expenses at the George Washington University.

  3. Loan Limits: To be eligible to receive a Perkins Loan, you must have been awarded the maximum annual Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans for which you are eligible. The Federal Perkins Loan program has varying loan limits depending on your year in school, dependency status, and amount awarded by GW. Limits for undergraduates are $5,500 per year with a maximum of $27,500.

  4. Enrollment Status: If you do not maintain an enrollment status of at least half-time, your loan will enter repayment after the 9-month grace period.

  5. Repayment: Repayment and accrual of interest at an annual rate of 5% will begin following the expiration of your grace period. You promise to repay the full loan amount with all interest and fees generally within ten (10) years. The minimum monthly repayment of this loan is $40.00. You may prepay this loan, make loan payments before they are required, or in amounts that are greater than required, at any time without penalty. In some circumstances the loan may be deferred for student status, economic hardship, unemployment, military service, or cancellation service. A Department of Defense repayment program may be available for specified military service.

  6. Credit Bureau Notification: Your loan will be reported to Equifax on a monthly basis.

  7. Default: Your loan may be considered in default if terms and conditions of the loan note are not followed. Defaulted loans may be subject to late fees, acceleration (full balance due and payable), reference to a collection agency, and/or litigation.

  8. Collection Fees: A late payment fee may be charged for each individual scheduled payment that is missed. If your delinquent account is referred to collections, a collection agency or an attorney for litigation, you may be responsible to repay 100% of the cost to collect the loan including collection fees and litigation costs. This may include a percentage based collection fee system.

  9. Consolidation, Forgiveness, and Alternative Repayment plans: A Federal Perkins loan may be consolidated. Consolidating your federal education loans can simplify your payments, but it can also result in the loss of some benefits. Please weigh the pros and cons and decide if a Direct Consolidation Loan is right for you.  More information can be found at https://studentaid.ed.gov/ and https://studentloans.gov.
     

    Advantages of Consolidation Disadvantages of Consolidation
    • Combine multiple loans into one
    • Lower monthly payments
    • Up to 30 years to repay
    • Fixed interest rate
    • Access to forgiveness programs such as Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF). See #12 below.
    • Access to alternative Income Driven Repayment plans such as Pay As You Earn.   See #12 below.
    • Longer repayment period resulting in more payments and more interest
    • Possible loss of some deferment and forbearance benefits
    • Possible loss of some cancellation benefits, see #10 below
    • Possible loss of grace period
    • Possible loss of the interest subsidy
    • Possible increase in the interest rate
       
  10. Cancellation: You may be entitled to have up to 100% of the original principal loan amount forgiven on your Perkins loan if you perform qualifying service in an eligible profession such as teaching, early intervention, law enforcement or corrections, nurse or medical technician, child or family service, attorney in a defender organization, firefighter, Tribal or University faculty, librarian, speech-language pathologist, service in an early childhood education program, military, and volunteer service. Refer to your Federal Perkins MPN for eligibility and details.
  11. Direct Loan Limits and Federal Loan Interest Rate Comparison: Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans have varying loan limits depending on your year in school, dependency status, and amount awarded by GW. In general aggregate loan limits are $31,000 for dependent students, $57,500 for independent students and $138,500 for graduate or professional students. More detailed information regarding loan limits between subsidized and unsubsidized loans can be found at https://studentaid.ed.gov/. Interest rate comparisons can be found here.
  12. Additional Resources:

Higher Education Finance website https://studentaid.ed.gov/

Student loan website, FAFSA link, and FSA ID https://studentloans.gov

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/understand/plans/income-driven

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/teacher