Fill Out Graduate Fellowship Deferment Request Online

What the graduate fellowship deferment is used for

During the deferment you are not required to make payments of principal or interest. Subsidized loans carry no interest charge to you for the period, unsubsidized loans continue to accrue interest that may capitalize at the end, and Perkins Loan borrowers receive a six month post-deferment grace period, with no capitalization ever on Perkins Loans.

The deferment begins on the date you became eligible, as certified by the program official, and ends on the earlier of the certified end date or the date you stop meeting the eligibility criteria.

Who qualifies

Section 2 asks a series of yes or no questions, and you must be able to answer yes to all that apply to your situation:

• You hold a bachelor's degree
• You have been accepted, or recommended for acceptance, by an institution of higher education into a full-time graduate fellowship program
• The fellowship provides sufficient financial support to allow full-time study for at least six months
• The program required a written statement of your objectives before awarding the support
• The program requires periodic reports, projects, or other evidence of your progress
• If you are studying at a foreign university, the fellowship program accepts that coursework toward completing the fellowship

How to fill out the form

Enter your identifying information in Section 1 and answer the eligibility questions in Section 2 in order. In Section 3, sign the requests and certifications, optionally checking the box to make interest payments during the deferment.

Section 4 belongs to an authorized official of the fellowship program or institution, who records the program's begin date and expected end date and certifies that you and the program meet the Section 2 conditions. Instead of the signature, you may attach separate documentation from the official containing the same information and certification.

How to submit it

Send the completed form to the address shown in Section 7 of your copy; if no address is printed, return it to your loan servicer. Only the signed and certified pages need to go back, and a separate request is required for each loan holder if your loans are held in more than one place.

Notify your loan holder immediately if you leave the fellowship early, since the deferment ends when eligibility ends. The servicer may apply a short forbearance while processing the request or to cover an existing delinquency.