Loan Repayment Assistance Program

An applicant must prove that their employment is, and has been since graduation from law school, in a full-time law-related job at either a non-for-profit or a governmental organization.  Non-for-profit organization is defined by IRS §501(c)(3)-(5) and includes legal service organizations and public defender programs.  A governmental organization includes all employees of the city, county, state, or federal government, except for judicial clerkships.  Recipients of a College of Law post-graduate fellowship are eligible for LRAP assistance.  A judicial clerkship shall count towards a maximum of one year of service in the program if, subsequent to the clerkship, the applicant takes employment with a qualifying organization and applies to LRAP.  Once an applicant leaves qualifying employment, except for an approved leave of absence (see below), the applicant is no longer eligible for LRAP.

Only institutionally approved law school loans qualify for repayment assistance.  Personal, family, undergraduate, bar study, or other loans do not qualify.  Currently, private loans are not eligible for LRAP assistance. Only federal and institutional loans qualify. Graduates whose loans have gone into repayment and receive an LRAP award will be required to show proof that their loans are in good standing.

Effective July 1, 2026, federal law creates two distinct categories of borrowers with different available repayment options. The College will apply LRAP eligibility and award calculations accordingly:

Category A — Pre-July 1, 2026 Borrowers (No New Loans After That Date): Applicants whose qualifying loans were all disbursed before July 1, 2026, and who have not taken out any new federal loans on or after that date, retain access to the Standard, Graduated, Extended, IBR, and RAP repayment plans. Note that ICR and PAYE are scheduled to phase out by July 1, 2028; applicants on those plans should plan to transition before that date.

Category B — Borrowers with Any Loan Disbursed On or After July 1, 2026: Applicants who have taken out any new federal loan on or after July 1, 2026—including those who also hold pre-July 2026 loans—are limited to the Tiered Standard Repayment Plan or the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) for all their loans. Legacy income-driven plans (IBR, ICR, PAYE) are not available to these borrowers for new loan balances.

The College will ask applicants to identify which category applies to them as part of the annual application process and will calculate qualifying loan payments accordingly.

For purposes of determining LRAP eligibility and awards, the College will calculate a “Qualifying Income” for each applicant.  Qualifying Income with either be the applicant’s adjusted gross income (AGI) or salary, as described herein.  All applicants are required to submit their most recent federal IRS tax return.

• Situations in which salary may be used to calculate Qualifying Income:
  • If the applicant applies for LRAP within a year of graduation from law school, and therefore no post-employment tax return is available, the College may calculate the “Qualifying Income” based on the annual salary.  
  • If the applicant has changed jobs since the end of the tax year, Qualifying Income may be calculated using annual salary. 

• For single applicants falling into either situation described in Section A immediately above, Qualifying Income will be the annual salary listed in the verification of employment letter, plus any additional income.

• For married applicants falling into either situation described in Section A above, Qualifying Income will be the greater of either (i) the applicant’s annual salary listed in the verification of employment letter; or (ii) half of the sum of the applicant’s annual salary and spouse’s salary/AGI, as appropriate, plus any additional income.    

• Situations in which AGI will be used to calculate Qualifying Income:  For all applicants who do not fall into the categories described in Section A above:
  • For single applicants, Qualifying Income is the AGI on the applicant’s most recent federal IRS tax return.
  • For married applicants, Qualifying Income is the greater of (i) the applicant’s AGI, or (ii) half of the joint AGI listed on the applicant’s most recent federal IRS tax return.

The College reserves the right to ask applicants for more information regarding the applicant’s individual or household income and to calculate Qualifying Income in a manner that is equitable to all LRAP applicants and consistent with the goals of LRAP.

A maximum Qualifying Income of $80,000 will be the initial Qualifying Income allowed.  The maximum Qualifying Income may grow to a maximum of $100,000 as per the College’s discretion.

Applicants may deduct the following expenses from the Qualifying Income:

• Dependent Credit – A dependent allowance of $2200 is allowed for each child dependent listed on the applicant’s federal income tax return.
• Non-qualifying educational loans – The applicant may deduct from his or her Qualifying Income any payments to educational loans not covered by this program, i.e., private or undergraduate loans.  Personal and family loans are not allowed.

The College recognizes cost of living variances by using a base income level that is equal to the national median public interest salary in the most recent class’ National Association for Legal Career Professionals (NALP) Starting Salary survey[1], adjusted for the participant’s particular geographic location using the U.S. Office of Personnel Management General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay Tables[2].  This total will be referred to as the applicant’s Standard Maintenance Allowance.

[1] See http://www.nalp.org/recentgraduates, select the most recent class year and Starting Salaries then Full-Time Reported Salaries by Employer or Job Type.   

[2] See https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2023/general-schedule/

Each qualified applicant is expected to contribute each year toward paying back the original law school debt.   The amount of contribution depends upon the applicant’s Qualifying Income and geographic location.  The formula for determining the applicant’s contribution is as follows: (1) determine Qualifying Income less any allowable deductions (listed above under “Deductions to Qualifying Income”); (2) subtract the Standard Maintenance Allowance for the applicant’s geographic location; and (3) divide the resulting number in half to determine the applicant’s contribution level.

Example 1: Single graduate who graduated less than a year ago; $48,000 salary in New York City; eligible law school loans equal $800/month, or $9,600/year; undergraduate loan payments equal $250/month, or $3,000/year.

$48,000	Qualifying Income (using salary)
-$3000	annual non-law school educational debt payments
=$45,000	Qualifying Income less deductions
-$41,483	New York City Standard Maintenance Allowance ($36,000 + $5,483 (15.23%))
=$3,517
/2
=$1,758	Applicant’s contribution

Example 2: Married graduate who graduated three years ago and has had the same job since graduating; $32,000 AGI in Pittsburgh, PA; spouse’s AGI is $65,000; eligible law school loans equal $8,400; undergraduate loan payments equal $1,200 annually. Because the joint AGI of participant and spouse divided by two is $48,500, which is greater than $32,000, $48,500 is used for Qualifying Income.

$48,500	Qualifying Income
-$1,200	annual non-law school educational debt payments
=$47,300	Qualifying Income less deductions
-$39,427	Pittsburgh, PA Standard Maintenance Allowance ($36,000 + $3,427 (9.52%))
=$7,873
/2
=$3,937	Applicant’s contribution

The applicant’s annual loan payments due will be calculated as follows, depending on when the applicant’s qualifying loans were first disbursed:

• For Category A Borrowers (loans first disbursed before July 1, 2026): Annual loan payments will be calculated under the income-driven repayment plan available to the applicant that results in the lowest monthly payment (which may include IBR, RAP, or other legacy plans still available to that borrower). This is regardless of what repayment plan the applicant is actually using.

• For Category B Borrowers (loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026): Annual loan payments will be calculated under the federal Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), as this is expected to be the most affordable income-driven option for borrowers working in public interest. Under RAP, monthly payments are set at 1–10% of the borrower’s adjusted gross income, with a $50/month reduction per dependent and a minimum payment of $10/month for incomes below $10,000/year.

The College reserves the right to update the baseline repayment plan used for calculation purposes as federal repayment options change.

Under the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, Federal Direct Loan borrowers paying under a qualifying repayment plan, including the new RAP, may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness after 120 qualifying monthly payments made while employed full-time by an eligible public service employer. The College strongly encourages applicants to verify their employer’s PSLF eligibility directly through the PSLF Employer Search tool at studentaid.gov and to consult with their loan services before making repayment decisions based on anticipated PSLF forgiveness.            

Note: The College does not warrant the PSLF eligibility of any specific employer. Applicants whose employers face PSLF restrictions under the new rules should consult legal counsel or a student loan advisor. PSLF eligibility is not required under this LRAP.

This schedule explains how much of a participant’s LRAP loans are forgiven after a minimum of 3 years of qualifying employment.  The maximum AGI is not a consideration in the loan forgiveness schedule.

Years in qualifying position	Percentage of loans forgiven
3	25%
4	50%
5	75%
6	100%

Unforgiven LRAP loans will be due after the following dates: (1) date the participant leaves qualifying employment or (2) date the participant fails to confirm information for the prior year’s employment.  Upon either of these repayment triggers, the participant must notify the College of Law Office of Admissions within 30 days to set up a repayment plan.  The repayment plan will not exceed five (5) years.  LRAP loans that become due are subject to a nominal rate of interest to be determined annually by the administrator.  The participant is no longer eligible for future LRAP loans.

A program participant is permitted to apply for up to one-year leave of absence from qualifying employment.  Leaves are handled by the Committee on a case-by-case basis for such purposes as childcare, personal illness, or caring for an ill family member or significant other.  Employment in a non-public interest law position is not a valid purpose for taking a leave from the program.  The participant is not eligible for assistance while on leave.