Deferring Prior Student Loans

A student is eligible for in-school deferment on prior federal educational loans while enrolled full-time at the Law School.

Those who have previously borrowed Federal Direct or Federal Family Education Loans should contact the lenders for a deferment form. The completed forms should be submitted to the Law School Registrar’s Office (registrar@law.uchicago.edu). That office will complete the forms and send those to the lenders beginning on the first day of full-time classes.

As the prior college or university is the lender for the Federal Perkins Loan, previous borrowers of this loan should contact that institution for the appropriate deferment form. The borrower should complete the student section of the form, submit it to the Law School Registrar’s Office, and that office will send the completed form to the lender. The borrower should contact the previous Federal Perkins Loan lender approximately six to eight weeks after submitting the form to the Law School Registrar’s Office or after the relevant quarter has begun, whichever is later, to verify that the deferment has been activated.

Previous borrowers of federal student loans should continue to pay their loans until the deferment forms have been received by the lenders.

It is the borrower’s responsibility to notify the lenders of any changes in circumstances (change in address, telephone number, name, enrollment status, for example) that might affect the deferment. The borrower should contact the lender immediately if the lender continues to send payment requests after the quarter has begun and/or after submission of a deferment form to the Law School Registrar’s Office. The Registrar may need to send an enrollment history record to the lender to verify eligibility for the student deferment.