Managing Repayment of Your Perkins Loans

The Federal Perkins Loan Program is one of the largest sources of educational assistance for Holy Cross students. For that reason, the College has designated the Bursar's Office to help graduating seniors and alumni understand and manage repayment of Perkins Loans. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We're here to help make your loan experience as clear and problem-free as possible.

Federal Perkins Loan Disclosure H.R. 3594

THE FEDERAL PERKINS LOAN PROGRAM ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2017

No additional Perkins loans will be available after that time.

Federal Loan Interest Rates

Loans First disbursed on or after 7/1/201 and before 7/1/2018

Federal Loan Program

Current Interest Rate

Perkins Loan

5.00% Fixed

Direct Stafford Loan

4.45% fixed

Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan

4.45% fixed

Direct PLUS Loan

7.00% fixed

 

Perkins Loans have a fixed interest rate of 5% regardless of the first disbursement date.

Direct Loans interest rates are determined each Spring for new loans being made for the upcoming award (July 1 to the following year June 30).

View the latest interest rate information at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/interest-rates.

Repayment and Forgiveness Benefits for Direct Loans are not available for Perkins Loans.

The repayment period for a Perkins loan is 10 years. Direct Loans provide several repayment options including payment plans that base your payment on your income. These repayment options are not available under the Perkins Loan Program. However, the Perkins Loan Program does have its own cancellation provisions.

General repayment and forgiveness information is available at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/perkins.

Consolidation option for Perkins Loan

You may consolidate your Perkins loan with your other Federal student loans. The benefit to this is a single monthly payment instead of multiple payments to multiple servicers.

By consolidating, you may also have access to additional repayment plans. The income-driven repayment plans,  which are not available under the Perkins Loan Program, may make your student loan debt more manageable by possible reducing your monthly payment amount. However, by extending the repayment period, you will likely be paying more interest over time.

For additional information on a Direct Loan Consolidation, visit https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/consolidation.