When you leave school, or drop below half-time status, the student loans you have borrowed will enter a grace period. This is a period of time where no payments are required.
There are no pre-payment penalties on any of the Federal Loans or Institutional Loans offered through Brown. This means borrowers may begin early if they choose and pay the loan in full early with no penalties.
Interest does not accrue on most loans during school or grace period. The Direct Unsubsidized Loan and PLUS Loan are the exception to this, and interest does accrue during this time. Making payments during a grace period is a good way to reduce the overall loan balance since payments are applied directly toward the principal balance for any subsidized loans (Direct Subsidized, Perkins, and all Brown University Institutional Loans).
| Loan Type | Interest Rate | Grace Period (Length of time before repayment begins) |
| Direct Subsidized & Unsubsidized Loans |
depends on date borrowed | 6 months |
| Direct PLUS & Graduate/Professional PLUS Loans | depends on date borrowed | Repayment begins within 60 days after the loan is fully disbursed. Borrowers can defer repayment during while the student is enrolled at least half-time & for 6 months after enrollment drops below half-time. |
| Federal Perkins Loans | 5% | 9 months |
| Ellwood, Kaplan, Casperson, orMedical Loans |
7% | 6 months |
| Plitt, or Tarandi Loans | 5% | 6 months |
| Brown University Loans | 9% | 6 months |
| Urban Education Loans | 6.8% | 4 months |
See details of Repaying your Loans.