Office of Financial Aid

The Federal Perkins Loan is funded by the federal government and priority during the awarding process is given to those students who show exceptional financial need. Exceptional financial need is defined as those students who have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of less than 10,000 and who have remaining financial need after taking into account other financial assistance. As there is a limited amount of funding available for students to attend classes during the summer, the majority of the Federal Perkins funds available will be awarded to students during the summer term. Exceptions maybe made on a case-by-case basis. Students must also be enrolled for at least 6 credit hours (5 or more for the Graduate College and School of Public Health) to receive the Federal Perkins Loan.

The interest rate for this loan is fixed at 5% and there are no origination fees. The maximum amount per the Federal regulations that an undergraduate student may borrow is $5,500 per award year. Graduate and professional students may borrow up to $8,000. However, due to limited funding, in most cases students will be awarded less than the amounts allowed by the regulations. Like Stafford Loans, there are also aggregate loan limits for the Federal Perkins Loan.

If you qualify for a Perkins Loan, the federal government pays interest on (subsidizes) the loan until you begin repayment and during authorized periods of deferment thereafter. Repayment of principal and interest begins after a grace period of 9 months after you leave school or fall below half time enrollment. Also, the Perkins loan program has unique teacher cancellation provisions.

Aggregate Limits for Perkins Loans

Master Promissory Note

When borrowing through the Perkins Loan program, you must sign a Master Promissory Note (MPN) agreeing to pay back the loan, with interest, according to the terms of the program. If you received a Perkins Loan at UIC during the 2004-2005 school year or later, you signed a Perkins MPN and should not need to sign another promissory note for the Perkins Loan program at UIC. If required, you will be sent an email notification with instructions within 48 - 72 hours after acceptance of the loan. Once you have received these instructions, you may complete the Perkins MPN online here.

UIC Financial Counselor™

Each year that you borrow a Federal Perkins Loan at UIC, you must complete a UIC Financial Counselor™ session. This counseling session and quiz, helps students understand their loan responsibilities. Financial Counselor must be completed prior to any Federal Perkins Loan funds being disbursed to your student account. So please make sure to complete as soon as possible, but no later than two weeks prior to the start of the semester in which you have been offered and accepted a Federal Perkins Loan.

	Aggregate Maximum
Undergraduates:
Who has not completed two academic years of undergraduate work	$11,000
Who has completed two academic years and is pursuing a bachelor's degree	$27,500

Graduate & Professional Students:
Would include loans borrowed as an undergraduate	$60,000