Columbia LRAP Forum

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vale1rd

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Columbia LRAP

Post by vale1rd » Thu May 20, 2010 1:54 pm

I wanted some TLS input on my interpretation of Columbia's LRAP. Their newest program seems like it forgives all LRAP loan debt after five years of qualified employment (with no salary cap). The only thing is, if you make more than 50,000$ a year you are expected to contribute 34.5% of you income over that 50,000$ mark. This seems almost too good to be true, all debt forgiven after just 5 years? Am I reading this wrong?

spondee

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Re: Columbia LRAP

Post by spondee » Thu May 20, 2010 2:26 pm

What's forgiven after 5 years is the payments made on your behalf during those 5 years.

LRAP is meant to encourage a commitment to public service, so if you start that kind of work, then bail prematurely, many schools ask you to repay the payments they've made for you.

andreea7

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Re: Columbia LRAP

Post by andreea7 » Fri May 21, 2010 10:46 am

vale1rd wrote:I wanted some TLS input on my interpretation of Columbia's LRAP. Their newest program seems like it forgives all LRAP loan debt after five years of qualified employment (with no salary cap). The only thing is, if you make more than 50,000$ a year you are expected to contribute 34.5% of you income over that 50,000$ mark. This seems almost too good to be true, all debt forgiven after just 5 years? Am I reading this wrong?
The loans will be on 10-year terms. What this means is that during the first five years they will be making your loan payments -- of course, you contribute your share if you make over $50,000-- and whatever they paid during this five years for your loans you don't have to pay it back. If you continue to be employed in a PI job, they will continue to make payments on your loans, but otherwise, you have the remaining balance of your loans to pay.

If you don't stay in a PI job for five years and let's say you leave for private after two years, whatever payments the university made on your loans during those two years you have to pay back to Columbia. It is not a lump sum payment, but a 10-year payment plan, if I am not mistaken. So what this means is that you will then have to be paying both your remaining loan payments and on top of that pay back Columbia so you don't actually take advantage of the LRAP at all, unless all you want to use it for is some sort of deferral until you find a highly paid job.

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