Loan Repayment Assistance Program

The Program

Every year, a number of University of Pittsburgh School of Law graduates dream of a career serving those who receive inadequate or no legal assistance, by pursuing advocacy work in the public's interest or serving the people through public sector employment. But these new lawyers face a substantial challenge. It is especially difficult for new law graduates with substantial student loan debt to take lower-paying jobs that would enable them to pursue their dream. The Law School recognizes that the legal community has a responsibility to serve others and seeks to support its students in pursuing a broad range of career choices. This pilot program has been adopted in the hope that it may begin to remove obstacles to graduates interested in choosing a career of service and will serve as the foundation of a sustainable, permanent program of loan repayment assistance. According to a 2002 joint report by Equal Justice Works, the National Association for Law Placement and Partnership for Public Service, "survey results suggest that some of the best solutions to the educational debt crisis are loan repayment assistance programs and other similar programs." Under the Pitt Law Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), participating graduates receive an annual sum of money, in the form of a forgivable loan, to pay a percentage of their monthly student loan payment.

F.A.Q.

What is the Loan Repayment Assistance Program?

The Loan Repayment Assistance Program provides direct financial assistance to qualifying Pitt Law graduates who enter public interest careers by contributing a set sum of money to their student loan payments. A committee appointed by the Dean administers the program.

What is the Value of LRAP?

The average starting salary for a public interest attorney, nationally, is $46,000. The average Pitt Law graduate in 2006 had $81,400 in student loan debt (undergrad plus law school) resulting in a monthly payment of $998, with approximately thirty-three percent (33%) of his/her salary committed to repayment of student loans. The high level of debt service obligation may preclude some graduates from pursuing their desired careers in public interest work. The LRAP is an important step towards ensuring that the next generation of Pitt Law graduates will include those able to afford public interest careers.

Who may apply?

Pitt Law graduates of 2007 may apply for consideration if they meet the requirements for "qualifying employment" and "qualifying income."

• Qualifying Employment:
  Pitt Law graduates must work full-time for a public interest or public service employer. This includes public employers such as legal services entities, governmental and intergovernmental employers, non profit employment and public defender or prosecutor offices. (Given the temporary nature of judicial clerkships generally, clerkships are not considered "qualifying employment" in this pilot LRAP program.)
• Qualifying income:
  A graduate may earn no more than $47,000 adjusted gross income per year. (For applicants who have not served a full year before applying, both they and their employers will have to provide an annualized statement of income.)

How much does LRAP pay?

LRAP pays approximately $3,700 a year towards a qualified graduate's loan payment. The amount of funds available for LRAP may not be sufficient to make payments to all qualifying applicants, and in all events the Law School has discretion to determine the recipients of funding and the funding levels.