http://abovethelaw.com/2009/12/the_harv ... d.php#more

PSI offers free third-year tuition for those going into PI. That may sound very generous, but their LIPP (LRAP) was already worse than that of many peer institutions. PSI supplemented their stingy LIPP and made it competitive with Columbia, Yale, and NYU (especially NYU), which have outstanding LRAP programs. Now that PSI is gone, going to Harvard for PI is a much worse deal than going to a peer institution.

LAME

As a positive, they kept the initiative for current (and deferred) students, and didn't put them completely up the river.

This will be a handy bit of precedent for all other T1s to follow suit. If one of the most well-endowed schools in America can't afford its LRAP, what does that say for the UCs?

I am really upset about this. I was really banking on that third year free, although I did have a sick feeling they were going to pull it. I don't know if Harvard is a viable option for me anymore.


And this is the bigger reason I'm upset. Regardless of where I end up, I need LRAP. And a good one.

Not sure it says anything about other schools. This program was a bad idea from the start. A lot of people would, and did, take advantage of this program due to its generosity and the current economic times (which started around the time of the plan's implementation - big FAIL). It's a victim of its own success, but I doubt those people who took advantage of the program would stay in PI after the required time. Time will tell though.

Not that I am in a position to turn down Harvard but damn, this is shitty. At least they are planning on announcing something this March so that admitted students have a chance to consider that before saying yes.

Why would HLS do that? Could their endowment actually be insufficient to pay for the program? I somehow really, really doubt it. IMO, the bad feelings engendered by such a move might well negate the financial savings. That is really all.

NOTE: They actually are one of the few schools with guaranteed summer PI funding, though. How I wish my school had more money...

I think people should pay attention to the first paragraph of the memo:

Faculty and staff at the school are mindful that the job market challenges for law students also bring new pressures on those of you—the vast majority of HLS students—who depend on financial aid. Fewer available jobs, lower salaries, deferred starting dates—all these things affect how much money students need to borrow, how soon students can begin repaying loans, and whether students can afford to pursue public interest and government jobs.

Keep in mind that this is HARVARD...not just a T14, T50, 2nd tier or a TTT law school.

Their endowment is massive. All this shows is that PI is a relatively low priority for HLS.

Exactly. It took a hit, but it's still well more than fifty times the size of what schools like mine have. I can assume that this is a priorities thing, and that does make me sad, though I will never be a Harvard student. I hope they reinstate it.

Wasn't someone on here yesterday harping about how Harvard wanted to turn more PI and that they knew someone close to the school that said that?

Ouch. Bad miss.

Keep in mind that they do still have a reasonable LIPP, guaranteed summer funding (used by hundreds of students each summer), and probably won't cut the program and leave nothing there. They're announcing a replacement program in March, it could be comparable to the program they're getting rid of. Everyone knows Yale's COAP is super-generous, but HLS has one of the top PI programs, which is great considering how huge the law school is compared to competing schools.

Also, it's worth keeping in mind that Harvard Endowment (which took a huge hit) =/ HLS funds. All major universities have money-making divisions (b-school, law school) and money-sucking divisions (some PhD programs). The endowment is there for all of them, but each grad program (not to mention undergrad) only gets some of the funds. My guess is that yeah, HLS doesn't have enough funds from the endowment pie to keep this thing going.

On a related note, I think its really big of them to leave the program in place for students who deferred. Maybe that's just cuz I"m a deferred student =p

This is a total shock. I'm pretty mad I just wasted $80 on the application. Hopefully no one who already got in and was banking on that has withdrawn their apps elsewhere. Also, according to this: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=85858&start=525, JR said in November that budget cuts would not have any real effects.

two things I took from this:

1) Harvard is Harvard people - you turn them down for this and there will be 500 waiting for your spot. This won't do a thing to their reputation.

2) Students are really going to need to start planning and mapping their law careers as 0Ls. Doing public interest because it sounds cool is a suicide pill right now if you don't have legit experience to back it up. I'd be very, very wary of LRAP programs being around in a few years.

Don't mean to go off topic, but yet another awesome avatar!

Oh it's not just massive--it's bigger than any other school in the world. Actually it's the biggest non profit fund in the United States. I think they are doing this because they anticipated a ton of people going into PI who normally wouldn't just to pay off their loans.