Repayment
At the time you graduate, drop below full-time enrollment, or withdraw from
the University, two instances occur:
- Exit interview—As a Perkins loan recipient, you are required
by law to attend an exit interview to review essential repayment information,
including deferment options, loan consolidation, and debt management. You
will receive truth-in-lending forms for each of your Perkins loan(s) that
will detail your payment schedule and the monthly amount due. You must come
prepared to provide an address where you can be reached in the future, as
well as names, phone numbers, and addresses of three personal references (friends
or relatives). Be aware that your student record will be put on hold
unless you attend an exit interview.
- Grace period—You will have nine-month grace period during which
no payments are required and interest does not accrue on your Perkins loan
balance. The grace period begins on the date you cease to be at least a half-time
student—whether or not you have completed your course of study. If you
plan to return to school before your grace period expires, contact Student
Financial Collections.
Your repayment period begins immediately when the grace period ends. You have
a maximum of 10 years (120 months) to repay your total Federal Perkins Loan
amount. You may pay without penalty all or any part of the loan principal and
accrued interest at anytime before it becomes due. For example, you may choose
to make payments during the grace period. The advantage is that your payments
will be applied directly to the principal balance during a grace period, decreasing
your principal balance. This, in turn, reduces the total interest you will be
charged over the life of your loan.
For your convenience, a variety of payment methods are available. To find out
more, go to Billing.
You may prepay without penalty all or any part of the loan principal and accrued
interest during the grace period or at anytime before a payment becomes due
during the repayment period. The advantage is that your extra payment amounts
will be applied directly to the principal balance, decreasing your principal
balance. This, in turn, reduces the total interest you will be charged over
the life of your loan. During the repayment period you may include an extra
amount with any regular payment. The extra amount will be applied to your principal
balance. Though you may include an extra amount, you must continue to make your
payments by the monthly due date.
However, if you want to make monthly installment payments in advance, you must
attach a note to the payment that asks SFC staff to use the extra amount to
prepay your monthly installments and send it directly to SFC (in 20 Fraser Hall).
SFC will apply the extra payment amount to future installments until the remaining
balance is insufficient to cover an installment amount. In other words, extra
amounts are not considered advance installment payments, unless you specify
in a written note that the amount is a prepayment of future installments and
send the payment, with the note attached, directly to SFC in 20 Fraser Hall.
Please do not hesitate to contact a Student
Financial Collections representative if you have concerns or questions about
your ability to repay your loans on schedule.
