I was denied the Perkins Loan at my school despite the fact that my husband, who goes to the same school, was offered Perkins. We were both chosen for verification. I submitted my forms four minutes before I submitted his, but his were marked as received the very next day. Mine took almost a month and three e-mails to finally be marked as received. The school refuses to explain why they delayed my financial aid package for so long.
Is there anything I can do about this or am I at the mercy of the school? I have not used all of my financial aid. I am a straight A student with a 4.0 gpa, on the Dean’s List, and I am a member of two of my school’s honor societies.
It is at the school’s discretion to disburse Perkins funding as they see fit. Each school has a set amount of funds to disburse, and they ultimately make the decision. Follow up with the school if you need a direct reason, as no one here would know your school’s awarding policy.
I already stated the school refuses to explain why my financial aid packaging was delayed. I also did not ask for a reason, I asked if there is anything I can do.
Like I stated - the school decides who gets the funds, there isn’t a set specification set by the Dept. of Ed. for this fund so no one other than your school can answer this question and ultimately disburse the funds to you (as each school has a limited amount of funding to disburse, this loan isn’t an entitlement).
Since Perkins loans are limited and are given out “first come, first serve” , and often to those with low EFCs, it is likely that by the time your verification was complete, the school was out of Perkins loans.
That said, are you concerned about the amount of loans you and your H are accumulating? You both already qualify for “independent” level loans, which are $9500 - 12,500 per year (for EACH of you). So, that would suggest that you’re borrowing $20k+ per year already, PLUS whatever Perkins Loans your H was given.
It sounds like the two of you could easily end up with $100k or more in loans!
What year in college are you and your H? How much have you both borrowed so far? What are your career goals?
You have very good stats but they don’t matter for this issue.