Perkins Loan Online


You can get information about and apply for the Perkins loan online; the internet has made the financial aid process so much easier!

First of all, in order to determine your eligibility for a Perkins loan or any financial aid, you must fill out and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA. The FAFSA is the universally accepted document that gathers your family’s financial information in a way that allows for calculation of your financial need.

Submit the FAFSA as early as you can, but be aware that the application will be rejected if it submitted before January 1 of the year you plan to start college. It is possible and preferable to apply online; online application identifies potential errors, gives help, and results in a faster response. If you do apply online, be sure to print a copy for your records.

The easiest place to fill out the FASFA and pursue a Perkins loan online is at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/, the Department of Education’s website. There you will find all of the information and guidance you need to complete the form correctly. Plus, the interactive nature of online forms means that if you skip a blank or fill in a blank with the wrong kind of information, you will receive immediate notification so that you can correct the error.

Most colleges also place the Perkins Loan application form online so that you can complete the information from the comfort of your own computing environment. The forms are usually in PDF format so you will need to have Adobe Acrobat running on your computer to access Perkins loan online application forms.

If you are awarded a Perkins loan, you will be required to participate in an entrance counseling session which gives you all the information you need to know about how the Perkins loan works, your responsibilities, etc. The counseling session can be completed online either through the college extending the loan or through a service that your college has selected for this purpose. If you are not sure whether this option is available to you, be sure to ask your college’s financial aid office.

Finally, when you leave college and are about to enter the nine month grace period, you will be required to participate on an exit counseling session. During that session you will receive all of the information you need to know about repayment of your Perkins loan. Like the entrance counseling session, you may be able to complete your exit counseling session online.

Do take advantage of Perkins loan online opportunities. Online information can be kept up-to-date more easily than printed materials so you are likely to receive the most recent information on any topic. Plus, the interactive nature of online forms makes it more likely that your forms will be submitted error-free.