Students enrolled on less than a half-time basis are now eligible to receive Pell Grant Funds. State Grant A Rhode Island Higher Education Grant is available to residents of Rhode Island enrolled in a degree program and registered for at least 6 credits each semester. The interest rate on the loan is variable, changes every July 1, and is capped at 8.25 percent. Repayment of the loan begins six months after graduation or six months after a student ceases to be registered for at least 6 credits in a semester. This six months is called a grace period.
Students have up to ten years to repay a loan once the grace period has ended.
If a student qualifies for a subsidized loan, the federal government will pay the interest on the loan until the loan enters repayment. A student who qualifies for this loan will pay the interest until the loan enters repayment. If a student does not pay the interest on the loan it is added to the amount borrowed. The total Stafford Loan borrowing limits apply to both the subsidized and unsubsidized programs as well as to the total borrowed in each of the programs combined. This loan enables parents with good credit histories to borrow to pay the educational expenses of each child who is enrolled in a degree program and registered for at least 6 credits each semester.