The Perkins Loan is the best student loan available.
For those students who still have unmet needs and families who can't afford to contribute, the Perkins Loans fill in the gap.
Folks are trying to do away with it because they want the money for deficit reduction.
So that would be at most $500, while the average Perkins loan is $2,000. When you do the math, the net loss to students (in federal aid each year) would be at least $1,500.
You're talking about interest rates that are essentially credit card rates. You don't stand a chance of paying that back.
Congress is going to hear from student loan professionals at the school because they're the closest to the fight. Certainly members of Congress will listen to them, but the folks they will listen to the most are students who are Perkins Loans borrowers.
It's not a matter of affordability. It's a matter of access. If this program goes away, that will deny access to tens of thousands of students.
In the big scheme of things, Perkins (Loans) ... pack a big punch.