LRAP/IBR/PSLF. How does it work? Let's find out!

[Nebby]

What electronic submission method?

Submitting it through FedLoan's website

I haven't noticed an electronic submission method. But them receiving the employment certification hasn't been my problem, it's that they're only counting each of my payments as "qualifying" on one of 8 loans. (And all of my loans are definitely eligible).

Can you requested an audit? I think that's something they do if you believe the qualifying payment count is wrong. You should definitely be getting QPs regardless of whether it's larger than the minimum. I do the same as you and all mine have counted.

[Rink]

What electronic submission method?

Submitting it through FedLoan's website

I haven't noticed an electronic submission method. But them receiving the employment certification hasn't been my problem, it's that they're only counting each of my payments as "qualifying" on one of 8 loans. (And all of my loans are definitely eligible).

Can you requested an audit? I think that's something they do if you believe the qualifying payment count is wrong. You should definitely be getting QPs regardless of whether it's larger than the minimum. I do the same as you and all mine have counted.

I did request a review, about 6 months ago. I called at 90 days to check in as instructed and was told that due to the volume of requests, it was taking much longer than expected.

[Nebby]

What electronic submission method?

Submitting it through FedLoan's website

I haven't noticed an electronic submission method. But them receiving the employment certification hasn't been my problem, it's that they're only counting each of my payments as "qualifying" on one of 8 loans. (And all of my loans are definitely eligible).

Can you requested an audit? I think that's something they do if you believe the qualifying payment count is wrong. You should definitely be getting QPs regardless of whether it's larger than the minimum. I do the same as you and all mine have counted.

I did request a review, about 6 months ago. I called at 90 days to check in as instructed and was told that due to the volume of requests, it was taking much longer than expected.

That's lame. I'm sorry you're having to go through that. I was researching online and it appears they usually correct the problem after an audit. It also appears common that the 90 day review turns into 6 months.

[UVA2B]

https://abovethelaw.com/2018/11/elite-l ... rest-work/

Good job CLS. Your LRAP was already really strong, but things like child deductions are really nice.

[Nebby]

I wish the salary cap would have gone up more. 50k to 55k is laughable

[benwyatt]

I wish the salary cap would have gone up more. 50k to 55k is laughable

I mean, it's gonna save me $1700 a year. I also would have liked it to increase more but it's easily one of the most generous existing LRAP programs and it's hard to sneeze at a 10% increase.

[Nebby]

[necho2]

It's very possible that I'm going to mischaracterize what I'm asking about- but does anybody have experience using an LRAP program that's based on IBR when your debt-to-income ratio (only like 35k in loans) doesn't appear to qualify you for IBR? My assumption is that you'd just stay on the default 10 year repayment plan, but I can't find any info articulating that (UChicago fyi but not sure anybody here has specific knowledge).

Or am I confusing something about how "qualifying" for IBR actually works? All I know is that when I plug household income numbers into an IBR calculator, I always get "you don't qualify".

[twenty]

For IBR, you have to have "partial financial hardship", which basically means the amount due on your loan every month has to exceed the amount you would pay under the IDR program. A lot of T14 schools will allow you to go in on their old pre-PSLF LRAP if you find yourself in a situation where you owe almost nothing but also make very little (keep in mind the cap on some of these programs is like 45k)~.

[necho2]

Yeah I'm definitely under the requisite cap (UChicago's like 80k), but my loan balance is small enough that I don't qualify for IBR. Does that just mean the program won't apply?

[Nebby]

I'd just ask your financial aid office. But I assume you'll just be on the 10 year standard repayment plan and your LRAP would be based on that instead of PAYE.

[Nebby]

FYI - I called FedLoan and it took about 2 seconds for them to process my request to permanently remove "paid ahead" status as a possibility on my loans.

FedLoan also updated one of their FAQs to explicitly offer this opportunity to PSLF folks (see half-way down the page): https://myfedloan.org/borrowers/payment ... ying-ahead

[Guest]

I wish the salary cap would have gone up more. 50k to 55k is laughable

Is there a list out there of the salary caps (under which the person's payments are fully covered) that would allow comparison among schools with LRAP programs, or at least the T14?

[Nebby]

I wish the salary cap would have gone up more. 50k to 55k is laughable

Is there a list out there of the salary caps (under which the person's payments are fully covered) that would allow comparison among schools with LRAP programs, or at least the T14?

I *think* the spreadsheet in my PI thread has that info (T14 only): viewtopic.php?f=23&t=157

[twenty]

I wish the salary cap would have gone up more. 50k to 55k is laughable

Is there a list out there of the salary caps (under which the person's payments are fully covered) that would allow comparison among schools with LRAP programs, or at least the T14?

I *think* the spreadsheet in my PI thread has that info (T14 only): viewtopic.php?f=23&t=157

The spreadsheet is very close to up to date, but definitely do your own research (e.g. NYU's went up from 80k to 100k, I think Penn's is better now too).

[HmmOhkay]

Is there a list out there of the salary caps (under which the person's payments are fully covered) that would allow comparison among schools with LRAP programs, or at least the T14?

I *think* the spreadsheet in my PI thread has that info (T14 only): viewtopic.php?f=23&t=157

Yikes, Northwestern's is <45k for full coverage? that's embarrassing. Seems like full coverage under 60k should be the minimum, particularly since there doesn't seem to be any adjustment for cost of living. Think about what it would be like making 50k and living in SF/DC/NY and not qualifying for full LRAP...

[Nebby]

Is there a list out there of the salary caps (under which the person's payments are fully covered) that would allow comparison among schools with LRAP programs, or at least the T14?

I *think* the spreadsheet in my PI thread has that info (T14 only): viewtopic.php?f=23&t=157

Yikes, Northwestern's is <45k for full coverage? that's embarrassing. Seems like full coverage under 60k should be the minimum, particularly since there doesn't seem to be any adjustment for cost of living. Think about what it would be like making 50k and living in SF/DC/NY and not qualifying for full LRAP...

Hmmm. That spreadsheet was made in 2016 so likely out of date. NU got a huge infusion of cash ($40 million) earmarked for PI in 2016 so it's likely that it's changed.

EDIT: Nevermind, it's still the same. Yeah, that's not great.

[HmmOhkay]

Hmmm. That spreadsheet was made in 2016 so likely out of date. NU got a huge infusion of cash ($40 million) earmarked for PI in 2016 so it's likely that it's changed.

EDIT: Nevermind, it's still the same. Yeah, that's not great.

It's interesting that there's so much variation among the top schools. It suggests that they aren't engaging in a heated competition in this area (appealing to prospective students who want to go into PI that may not pay well). You've got schools like NYU, Chicago, and Cornell that will cover full payments for salaries under 80k and schools about half that amount with Northwestern and Harvard at 45 and 46k. I guess there's not much pressure on them to match each other in this area. Or maybe they don't care much about PI.

[Echos Myron]

Hmmm. That spreadsheet was made in 2016 so likely out of date. NU got a huge infusion of cash ($40 million) earmarked for PI in 2016 so it's likely that it's changed.

EDIT: Nevermind, it's still the same. Yeah, that's not great.

It's interesting that there's so much variation among the top schools. It suggests that they aren't engaging in a heated competition in this area (appealing to prospective students who want to go into PI that may not pay well). You've got schools like NYU, Chicago, and Cornell that will cover full payments for salaries under 80k and schools about half that amount with Northwestern and Harvard at 45 and 46k. I guess there's not much pressure on them to match each other in this area. Or maybe they don't care much about PI.

Need to distinguish between PSLF-integrated and non-PSLF programs and their benefits/drawbacks. For example, the NU and HLS LRAPs vastly different aside from their income caps

[twenty]

It suggests that they aren't engaging in a heated competition in this area (appealing to prospective students who want to go into PI that may not pay well).

I know I cared a lot about this when I was applying to T14 schools (I didn't apply to Cornell + some others for this exact reason). Over ten years the difference can be ~60k you didn't have to spend on loan repayments by opting for Columbia over Northwestern. You obviously never know what kind of job you'll get, what your grades will be, etc. etc., so the more-certain items with regards to PI weighed pretty heavily for me.

Harvard at 45 and 46k.

So it's worth pointing out that the Harvard, Yale, Stanford + many of the older LRAP programs do not neg-am over ten years with one huge payoff at the end. The argument is that if you're only going to stay in PI for a few years, you're better off at one of these programs because your loan balance will actually decrease over this time. I don't think it deserves as much weight as people give it, but it is worth pointing out.

[Nebby]

[Kümmel]

deleted by request...

[Nebby]

You're right!

[Kümmel]

deleted by request...

[Nebby]

I am not seeing that in either my promissory note or on here: https://www.law.columbia.edu/sites/defa ... eb2019.pdf