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Public service is an important part of Seton
Hall Law School’s mission. The increasing costs
of undergraduate and law school education have
caused many law students to graduate with a
large burden of educational debt. Legal
employment in the public service sector often
comes with low salaries, at least in the early
years. Law graduates are thus likely to feel
financially constrained in choosing to pursue a
career in public service law.
To make entry into a public service career
easier, Seton Hall Law School created a Public
Interest Loan Repayment Assistance Program (PILRAP).
PILRAP loans offer graduates interested in
public service law the ability to receive a low
-interest loan so that the participant may make
payments on his or her student loans.
Participants who remain in the program longer
than one year may have a portion of their loans
forgiven. Interest does not accrue until the
loan enters repayment. Loans are not repayable
as long as the graduate remains in qualifying
employment and may be gradually forgiven.
The amount of the PILRAP loan is determined by:
the graduate’s level of indebtedness, the number
of years a graduate spends in qualifying
employment, and the adjusted gross income of the
graduate and his or her spouse.
Participation in PILRAP is limited to those who
have received an offer of employment as an
attorney with a qualifying public service
organization. It is
also limited to those with demonstrated
financial need, as evidenced by educational debt
and available financial resources. The funding
available for PILRAP is not unlimited. In the
event funding is not available to fully fund all
eligible applicants, a committee appointed by
the Dean will allocate the available funding in
a manner that maximizes the goals of the
program.
Qualified Employment
The applicant must produce evidence of an offer
of employment as an attorney with a
not-for-profit organization that provides,
directly or through public policy efforts,
advocacy advancing the interests of those
traditionally underserved by the legal system,
or an organization (whether governmental or
not-for-profit) that provides constitutionally
mandated services to criminal defendants. The
applicant must agree to accept the offer of
employment if he or she receives a PILRAP award.
Maximum Qualifying Income
The maximum qualifying income for the 2007
application period is $60,000. The applicant’s
income will be considered to be the greater of
the applicant’s income or the average of the
applicant and the spouse’s income. Liquid assets
of both the applicant and the spouse in an
aggregate amount over $10,000 will be assumed
available for loan payment, thereby reducing the
amount of the award
Eligible Educational Loans
Approved loan funds borrowed for educational
expenses under the following programs are
eligible: Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized
Stafford Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal
Graduate PLUS Loans, and alternative (private)
loans borrowed through lenders such as The
Access Group, Key Bank, and Sallie Mae. Consumer
loans and personal loans through family members
are not eligible. Graduates must be current on
all educational loans.
Calculation of Awards
The awards vary, and are based on a formula
taking into account the amount of all
educational debt, income and liquid assets. For
the 2007 application year, loan amounts will not
exceed $10,000 per applicant. In brief, the
formula for calculating the amount of the award
operates as follows.
The applicant’s countable income is determined
by reducing his or her projected income by
$4,000 for each dependent claimed for federal
income tax purposes, and for the amount of
non-reimbursable medical expenses. If the
countable income is less than $30,000 then the award
amount would equal the amount of loan repayments
for that year up to $10,000.
If the countable income is between $30,000 and
$60,000, the award is reduced by the following
amount: (countable income -$30,000) x .3,
subject to the $10,000 cap.1 If the countable
income is greater than $60,000, no award will be
made. Applicants with large debt and low
financial resources will be eligible for the
largest awards; those with lower debt and/or
relatively greater financial resources will be
eligible for lesser awards.
Application Procedures and Borrower
Requirements
Applications are available in the Office of
Financial Resource Management, or by
downloading
the application.
The PILRAP applicant must complete and submit
all of the forms attached to this document.
These include a form to be completed by the
applicant requesting biographical, employment
and financial information, a similar form to be
completed by the applicant’s spouse (if any),
and forms to be completed by the employers of
the applicant and spouse. Applicants must
reapply each year.
All participants are obliged to submit an annual
and six-month report to the Office of Financial
Resource Management. Failure to comply will
result in activation of repayment of all
promissory notes. The conditions of this program
are subject to change depending on available
funding, and no promise of assistance should be
inferred from these documents. Additional
information may be obtained by contacting the
Office of Financial Resource Management at Seton
Hall Law.
Repayment of PILRAP loans
While the interest on PILRAP loans does not
begin accruing during the time a participant is
eligible for an award, the loans must be repaid,
and they begin to bear interest at a rate of 5%
when the participant is no longer eligible for
the program. Participants must sign Repayment
Promissory Notes for the loans and interest, and
the obligation to repay begins when the
participant is no longer eligible for the
program.
Leave of Absence and Grace Period
Participants may apply for a leave of absence
from the program for medical reasons, compulsory
military service, or other compelling reasons. A
participant who remains in qualifying
employment, but who receives salary increases
rendering that participant ineligible for
additional Seton Hall loans may
qualify for a grace period during which
repayment obligations to Seton Hall do not
attach. This grace period may be recognized when
the applicant is, but for salary increases in
qualifying employment, eligible for
participation in the program.
To qualify for this grace period, the
participant’s income must not exceed 150% of the
income cap for that year. As long as such a
participant remains in otherwise qualifying
employment, and, but for the salary increase,
remains financially eligible for the program,
the participant will not be obliged to begin
repayment of loans to Seton Hall, and no
interest on Seton Hall PILRAP loans will accrue.
In addition, Seton Hall Law School will forgive
the entire loan indebtedness for a
graduate who successfully remains in the PILRAP
program for 6 consecutive years. The participant
remains obligated to complete and submit
reporting forms each year to the Office of
Financial Resource Management.
Loan Forgiveness
PILRAP loans may be partially or fully forgiven
based on the length of the graduate’s
participation in the program. The program year
runs from January 1 to December 31.
At the end of the first year of participation in
the program, the loan is not eligible for loan
forgiveness, but is not due to be repaid until
the participant leaves qualifying employment or
otherwise becomes ineligible for the program.
Graduates who participate in the program for two
to six years may have a portion of the
indebtedness forgiven based on the following
sliding scale.
- Completion of 2 years = 20% of year 2 loan
forgiven
- Completion of 3 years = 40% of year 3 loan
forgiven
- Completion of 4 years = 60% of year 4 loan
forgiven
- Completion of 5 years = 80% of year 5 loan
forgiven
Example:
Year 1:
$5,000 PILRAP initial award,
Total balance owed = $5,000
Year 2:
$5,000 PILRAP award for commencement of
year 2,
Total balance owed = $10,000
Year 3:
$1,000 eligible for loan forgiveness at
the end of year 2 (20% of $5,000)
$5,000 PILRAP award for commencement of year 3
Total balance owed = $14,000
Year 4:
$2,000 eligible for loan forgiveness at
the end of year 3 (40% of $5,000)
$5,000 PILRAP award for year commencement of
year 4
Total balance owed = $17,000
Year 5:
$3,000 eligible for loan forgiveness at
the end of year 4 (60% of $5,000)
$5,000 PILRAP award for year commencement of
year 5,
Total balance owed = $19,000
Year 6:
$4,000 eligible for loan forgiveness at
the end of year 5 (80% of $5,000)
$5,000 PILRAP award for year commencement of
year 5,
Total balance owed = $20,000
Seton Hall Law School will forgive the entire
loan indebtedness for a graduate who
successfully remains in the PILRAP program for 6
consecutive years. The forgiven amount does not
need to be repaid to Seton Hall Law School.
- Thus, a student who receives a $5,000 PILRAP
loan per year for 6 years will have received
$30,000 in loans that would be forgiven.
Year 7:
$20,000 eligible for loan forgiveness at
the end of year 6 (100% of total
indebtedness)
Total balance owed = $0
1. Sample
calculations using this formula are set out in
Appendix A.
Appendix A
Sample Awards
The examples below illustrate the award amounts
for successful applicants with various levels of
debt and income. For these examples, it is
assumed that the applicant does not have liquid
assets exceeding $10,000, that the program is
subject to a $10,000 per applicant cap on awards
for the year, and it is further assumed that
funds are available to make awards to all
qualifying applicants. “ALRB” refers to the
applicant’s annual loan repayment burden.Example A: Salary = $24,000, differing debt
burdens
ALRB = $10,000 Award = $10,000 (no reduction)
ALRB = $5,000 Award = $5,000 (no reduction).
Example B: Salary = $35,000, differing debt
burdens
ALRB = $10,000 Award = $8,500 [$10,000 -
(($35,000 -$30,000) x (.3))]
ALRB = $5,000 Award = $3,500 [$5,000 - (($35,000
-$30,000) x (.3))]
Example C: Salary = $40,000, differing debt
burdens
ALRB = $10,000 Award = $7,000 [$10,000 -
(($40,000 -$30,000) x (.3))]
ALRB = $5,000 Award = $2,000 [$5,000 - (($40,000
-$30,000) x (.3))]
Example D: Salary = $55,000, differing debt
burdens
ALRB = $10,000 Award = $2,500 [$10,000 -
(($55,000 -$30,000) x (.3))]
ALRB = $5,000 Award = $2,000 [$5,000 - (($55,000
-$30,000) x (.3))]
Note: $2,000 is the minimum award if available
funding permits
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