Terms of the Program - a Brief Summary To help Columbia JD graduates who enter qualifying legal employment in repaying their educational loans, the Loan Repayment Assistance Program provides financial assistance in the form of loans from the Law School. Spousal income must also be considered for those participants from the class of 1995 or later. Loans from LRAP are not repayable so long as the graduate remains in qualifying employment. Under certain circumstances, LRAP loans for graduates who remain in qualifying employment may be gradually forgiven. Employment Covered by the Program Qualifying employment is full-time work that makes direct use of a graduate's legal education in the public interest or public service sectors, or in legal services for the poor.
Public service means employment by a governmental agency.
The Law School will determine whether or not a particular job meets these qualifications. Personal loans from banks or from family members, and credit card and consumer debt are not covered under the Program, even when they are used to finance higher education. Other loans not covered are commercially available educational loans not certified by the Financial Aid Office, bar exam loans, and loans taken out by parents to finance a student's education. The Program does not cover educational indebtedness from any other graduate education, including loans borrowed at another law school. Undergraduate debt will be taken into consideration for all participants.