This is only a summary of your rights and responsibilities. For more detailed information,
consult your Federal Perkins Loan promissory note or the holder of your loan.
It is important for you to read and fully understand the specific language of the master
promissory note you have or will sign electronically. By signing the promissory note and accepting
the funds referred to in the note, you are agreeing to repay the loan in full. You are
also obligated to apply the proceeds to educational expenses. Your note explains what
you have agreed to do by accepting the loan. It is your responsibility to become familiar
with all information in the note, especially the following provisions:
- The Federal Perkins Loan Program Extension Act of 2015 permits colleges and universities across the country to resume offering Federal Perkins Loans to eligible students through September 30, 2017.
- For eligible graduate students, Perkins loans will be available for the 2016-17 award year only. In order for continuing graduate students to receive the Spring 2017 Perkins, they must receive the Fall 2016 disbursement after June 30, 2016 and before October 1, 2016.
- The annual simple interest rate is 5% during the repayment period.
- The Perkins Loan does not collect interest while you are attending school half-time or more.
- At UW- Stevens Point, the typical Perkins Loan is $2,000 (or less) for an academic year.
The federal program limits are $5,500 per year for undergraduate students and $8,000 per
year for graduate students, with cumulative limits of $27,500 for undergraduate loans and
$60,000 for undergraduate and graduate loans combined. However, many schools do not have
sufficient funds to award the Perkins Loan at the annual maximums.
- The principal amount (amount you were loaned) will be sent to you in a disclosure notice.
- The Perkins Loan is a desirable student loan because special cancellation features apply.
You must apply to obtain cancellation benefits each year. Refer to your promissory note
for postponement and cancellation provisions, or contact the Perkins Loan Office at
715-346-3473 for details.
- You must complete a cancellation form for each academic year in
which you are applying for the cancellation benefit. Each cancellation
form must be submitted and approved before you obtain the cancellation
benefit. Failure to submit your cancellation forms by the due dates may
result in reporting past due information to the Credit Bureau on our
Federal Perkins Loan.
- A portion of your loan can be cancelled for each complete academic year
you are a full-time teacher of special-needs children or full-time teacher
in a designated elementary or secondary school that serves low income students.
- You may also qualify for cancellation if you are a full-time teacher
of mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual education, or any
field of expertise determined by the state education agency to have a
shortage of qualified teachers.
- A portion of your loan will be cancelled for each year of full-time work
in specified early intervention services providing services to infants
and toddlers with disabilities. After the seventh year, your loan will be
totally cancelled.
- Cancellation provisions are available for law enforcement/correction
officers. To qualify you must be employed by an eligible local, state,
or federal agency engaged in crime prevention or law enforcement.
- Cancellation benefits are available for nurse and medical technicians
and individuals employed with a public or nonprofit child or family
services agency and are providing or supervising services to high-risk
children and their families from low-income communities.
- Up to 70% of your loan can be cancelled for service as a Peace Corps
or VISTA volunteer — 30% during the first two years and 40% for the
next two years.
- If you enter the U.S. Armed Services after receiving your loan, you
may qualify for partial cancellation — 12% per year for up to four years.
Eligibility is limited to those serving in an area of hostility and
receiving special pay under Section 310 of Title 37 of the United States
Code. You must serve under these conditions for 12 consecutive months for
each cancellation.
- You are responsible for submitting the appropriate cancellation paperwork
on time. You may lose your right to receive cancellation benefits if your
account is defaulted and your loan has been accelerated.
- Other cancellation opportunities are available. Contact the Perkins Loan
Office for more information.
- Perkins Loans are reported to a credit bureau or credit reporting agency beginning as
soon as you accept your first Perkins Loan. Your loan will also be recorded in the
National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) and will be accessible to guarantee agencies,
lenders, and institutions authorized to use the data system.
- Failure to submit your cancellation forms by the due dates may result in
reporting past due information to the Credit Bureau on our Federal Perkins Loan.
- Repayment of a Perkins Loan begins nine months after you cease to be enrolled at least
half-time, at which time interest will begin to be charged.
- The minimum monthly payment is $40, paid monthly, and the maximum timeframe within which
the loan must be repaid is 10 years.
- The total cumulative balance and estimated monthly payment figures are available from
the Perkins Loan Office upon request. You may calculate your estimated monthly payment
by multiplying the total Perkins Loan amounts borrowed times .0106067. Keep in mind that
you will have to pay at least the minimum payment (as mentioned in #10).
- Payments on the loan will be made to the servicer of your loan:
UW-Stevens Point L9,
C/O Heartland ECSI
P.O. Box 718 Wexford, PA 15090
- You may repay the loan at any time without penalty. You may also be eligible to have
your payments deferred for a number of reasons. The Perkins Loan also provides you
with an opportunity to cancel all or part of your loan for certain types of employment
or service. Refer to your promissory note for deferment and cancellation provisions,
or contact the Perkins Loan Office at 715-346-3473 for details. (See #7)
- If you fail to make a loan payment when it is due, your loan is considered to
be in default. This designation has serious consequences. Default will cause you to
lose your deferment and cancellation benefits. Furthermore, your loan will be accelerated
and referred to a collection agency which means that the entire principal balance, interest,
late charges and collection costs will be due upon demand. Defaulted loans may be reported
to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, in which case your Wisconsin State Income Tax return,
lottery prizes, or vendor payments may be intercepted to pay our debt. A default classification
will also prohibit you from receiving federal student aid in the future should you decide to return
to school.
- You also have the option of consolidating your student loans. A Consolidation Loan is
designed to help borrowers simplify loan repayment by allowing the borrower to consolidate
several types of federal loans into one loan. However, there are some consequences to
consolidating different types of loans together: the interest rate of a consolidated
loan may be a weighted average of the different loans’ original individual interest rates. The
interest rate is currently capped at 8.25%. Also, if you consolidate your Perkins Loan, you
will forfeit the special cancellation features of the loan (see #7). Consolidation Loans can
be obtained through participating lenders, guarantee agencies and, under certain conditions,
through the federal government.
Contact an advisor in the Financial Aid Office or the Perkins Loan Office (715-346-3473) for any clarification.
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