The Loan Repayment Assistance Program ("LRAP") is designed to help Oregon Law graduates entering public service to pay their law school loans. Many of today's students graduate with high debt levels, making it difficult to accept lower-paying public interest law jobs. The goal of the LRAP is to provide these law graduates with financial assistance for their law loans, thus helping them to enter public service.

Recent Oregon Law graduates who meet the following four criteria may apply for LRAP support: (1) Graduated December 2003 or later from Oregon Law; (2) Work in a qualified public interest law job; (3) Have an adjusted gross income of $45,000 or less annually; and (4) Have outstanding law school loan obligations.

Graduates meeting the four criteria outlined above are eligible to apply for the program. The LRAP Selection Committee, composed of faculty, staff, students, and alumni, will evaluate all of the applications and choose the 2009 LRAP recipients. The Committee will look at several financial factors to make their decisions, such as income levels, undergraduate and other graduate debt, debt/income of partner or spouse, the applicant's prior commitment to public interest activities, and the applicant's stated public interest career objectives. Those graduates receiving LRAP assistance will be given short-term LRAP loans of between $2,500 and $5,000 per year, for up to three years. Each year that an LRAP recipient continues to work in the public interest field, a portion of their LRAP loans will be forgiven. After three years of public interest service, 100 percent of their LRAP loans will be forgiven. Those applicants working as judicial clerks will follow a separate forgiveness schedule.