LRAP program surges into second year

    Nearly 300 alumni in the non-profit and public sectors received help in the past year in paying off their student loans, thanks to a trailblazing university program encouraging many others to consider applying for funding as the program enters its second year.
    The Loan Reduction Assistance Program (LRAP) disbursed over $450,000 in grants to 288 alumni of the university's undergraduate and graduate schools working in public-service occupations, which traditionally earn significantly less than those in the private sector. University officials have billed it as the first university-wide loan-repayment program in the nation.
    "I was very pleased with the impact in the first year," said Tisch College Dean Robert Hollister, who was significantly involved in designing LRAP. He said the high volume of applications received — over 400 — indicated the existence of a real need for the program.
    Eligible Tufts graduates received need-based awards ranging from $500 to $5,000. Money is given out on a year-to-year basis, and last year's recipients can reapply this year.
    "The alumni who received awards have been very positive about the impact of them of getting this support," Hollister said.
    The quantity of applications and level of interest ahead of the Sept. 1 deadline was on track with last year, according to Director of Public Relations Kim Thurler. In the first year, over 100 people were turned away, largely because "they didn't fall into the realm of need or they didn't qualify," LRAP Administrator Judi Kennedy said.
    Josh Wolf (LA '08), who plans to apply to the program this year, said student-loan debt has muddled his hopes of attending graduate or law school. An LRAP grant, he said, would make a big difference.
    "It's really hard for me to say that I'm going to go to law school," he said. "I'm going to go take out a bunch of loans for the second degree when I haven't even finished [paying off] the first one?"
    LRAP's creation and its continuation into a second year, in which over $500,000 will again be put toward the program's administration and awards, reflect Tufts' commitment to active citizenship and its encouragement of students to give back beyond graduation, according to alumni and university officials.
    "Tufts always sort of preaches this mission of public service and thinking globally and acting locally," said Courtney Boen (LA '06, MPH '07), a policy analyst for the Boston Public Health Commission's Center for Health Equity and Social Justice. She received $4,500 this year to put toward her $47,000 in student loans; the unexpected grant, she said, served as a "cushion" for her income.
    "For me," Boen said, "Tufts really put its money where its mouth was."
    New Hampshire State Rep. Scott Merrick (D), who was elected to office in 2004 as a sophomore at Tufts, praised the program and said an LRAP award would help a lot.
    "Being a state rep in New Hampshire doesn't pay," Merrick (LA '08) said, adding that the position pays $100 per year. He is thinking about going to graduate school, but says his limited income and remaining student-loan debt have made that unfeasible for at least the next couple years.
    "It's one of those things where it definitely impacts my current situation," he said, referring to the possibility of receiving an LRAP award. "If this does happen, it will greatly increase the chance I have to go on to grad school or law school … or whatever higher education I do."
    No significant changes were made to the program this year other than "streamlining" the application process, according to Hollister. The initiative remains in its beginning stages, and administrators are still learning how to most effectively implement the program in all of Tufts' schools, he said.
    Some have argued that one set deadline might not be the best approach to accommodate alumni.
    "Unlike jobs in the private sector, where there's a very strict recruiting schedule, jobs in non-profits and the government pretty much start anytime in the year," said Stephan Vitvitsky (LA '06), who was ineligible for LRAP this past year because of the timing of a position he held.
    Multiple deadlines throughout the year, or a rolling application process, would work better with the untraditional recruiting and hiring process in those fields, he said.
    Director of Career Services Jean Papalia disputed the assertion that different schedules exist across the board, though. A single deadline ensures fairness in allocating awards, according to Hollister and Thurler.
    For Wolf, the deadline is not the problem so much as the question of his eligibility. His status as an aide to a Maryland state legislator in both a legislative and campaign capacity has made him unsure of his chances.
    "I really enjoy what I'm doing," he said. "I'm working on policy on a day-to-day basis. I feel that my work is actually affecting people."