Perkins loan application man asked:

So I recieved my Financial aid reward for college and was offered a perkins loan and a subsidized direct loan. My question is what is the difference and if I were to choose only one which one would be better. both are of the same amount.

By Guest Writer Steve Morin:

Unfortunately, the answer is NO. You are unable to transfer your loan from one school to another. In case of school transfer, you have to re-apply for federal perkins financial aid by filling out a FAFSA form for the school you are transferring to.

In case you stop attending a school, your loan from that particular school goes into a six month grace period and after that into repayment. If you want paying while you are still in the school, you can defer on these loans until you are graduated from your new school.

For this purpose you have to fill up a form for deferment. In case of direct loans, you have to put your request to Department of Education Loans or you can simply use the loan forms for the loans taken out through private lenders.

Even if you want your new school to continue the financial aid you have to apply again. For this purpose, you are bound to know the school code of your new school and all the necessary information about FAFSA.

You have to meet the requirements from both the schools you are transferring to and transferring from.

Contacting Current Financial Aid Administrator

You have to cancel any remaining disbursement loans at present school in case you are transferring in the mid-year. If you still want federal education loan fund, you have to reapply from the financial aid office of your new school.

You have to inform before hand through a proper channel to the new school about any scholar ship or other educational gift if you want them in the new school as well.

By requesting to an academic advisor, try to get an academic transcript that you have to forward to your new school. It is recommended that you should personally meet your academic advisor to make sure that you have met with all transfer requirements.

Contacting the Financial Aid office at Your New School

As you are in contact with your current academic advisor, you have to get in touch to the Financial Aid Office at your new school as well. This is important to insure that you continue to receive financial aid.

Strictly follow the deadlines for submitting the financial aid forms, documents and scholarship applications to your new schools. Meeting the deadlines is very important because if you lose your deadline, sometime it means you lose some of the profit you deserve.

Request a deferment form from your loan holder, get it signed and certified by the registrar’s office at your new school and send it back to your loan holder.

Demand every sort of financial aid which may include scholarship, grants and work study programs.  You need to know your new school application process, if you are applying for a federal student loan.

Important Tasks before Transferring

You have to inform your lender or loan service about your plan to transfer a bit earlier so that your loans should not automatically be entered into the grace or repayment status.

In order to keep your financial aids continue in the new school, you have to insure your loan holder that you are sure to continue your education in the new school.

Let him know the date you intend to transfer. Give him the details like the name of your new institution and the address.  Let him know about the anticipated date of your graduation in the new institution.  Provide him with a signed deferment form from your new school to verify your enrollment.

Reader Question

Summer asked:

If you received both a subsidized and unsubsidized student loan as a freshmen, can you reapply for a stafford? Loan as still a freshmen for the next academic year, at another college.  Does it make a difference if I have bad credit.  I live in Canada.