One of the obstacles which often hinders students in deciding to pursue a career in the public interest is the prospect of mounting loans to be paid upon graduation. There is the additional problem of finding a way to afford working at a minimal rate of pay or as a volunteer during the summer. —Georgetown Public Interest Handbook, p. 41 (1988)

One of the areas most significantly in need of revitalization at Georgetown is financial aid. The financial burden placed upon law students is one of the biggest reasons for the decline of public interest at Georgetown. In order to pay for the high cost of law school, many students do not accept summer public interest employment, and forgo permanent placement in the public interest community.

EJF recommends that Georgetown insure that its students can maintain a basic standard of living while working in public interest. Specifically, EJF recommends that Georgetown take the following steps:

1. Significantly expand the Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP);
2. Fund summer fellowships by matching contributions to the current EJF fellowship drive;
3. Establish scholarships for students working in public interest;
4. Allow work-study funding to be used at public interest organizations, both during the summer and the school year.

A. Background: The Cost Calculus of Public Interest

The financial pressures of law school have made it nearly impossible for students to accept summer or permanent public interest placements. This reality has been documented and known to Georgetown for many years.

The first component of the calculus is the high cost of legal education at Georgetown. Tuition for 1993–1994 is almost $20,000, and the entire student budget is over $30,000. In the 1980's, law school tuition rose by 206%, significantly more than the 60% rise in the Consumer Price Index.

The second component is Georgetown's financial aid programs. In 1991, the faculty voted to cap the level of grant aid available to Georgetown students. As a result, most student aid packages consist of loans. A student who borrows up to the federal limits each year will incur over $50,000 in debt.

The third component is the salary structure of the legal job market. Working in the private sector has always paid more than working in public interest. However, over the past 10 years the spread between the two has been dramatic. Private salaries have skyrocketed, while public interest salaries have essentially remained constant.

Students faced with this financial scenario essentially have no choice but to abandon their initial hopes of working in public interest. According to a repayment chart produced by Law Access, a student with $50,000 debt, utilizing a 20-year repayment period, must earn at least $54,000 per year. This salary is nearly twice the amount of most starting salaries in public interest, but is in the range of starting salaries for those working for private law firms.

I am frustrated by the fact that I thought Georgetown and LRAP would enable me to do the work I came to law school to do, to provide legal representation to those who would otherwise have limited access to the protection of the laws that is everyone's right. —Phyllis Jaudes, 10/21/91

I can expect to graduate owing somewhere in the neighborhood of $52,500…with this type of debt few who are not financially well off will be able to pursue considerably lower paying public interest jobs. I am distressed at the constraints placed on me by my large educational debt. —Lee Llambelis, 4/28/89

It is important to note that the impact of these financial pressures falls most heavily on those who come from backgrounds of limited means. As a result, students who might be among the most effective public interest advocates are effectively barred from serving their communities.

Public interest employers are also aware of this crisis. According to a survey by the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA), 78% of respondents faced difficulties recruiting minorities, and of this number, 81% considered educational debt to be an important factor. In addition, 47% of respondents have retention problems, in large part because of school loans.

B. Reforming the Current System

1. Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP)

Background: LRAP has been the primary institutional response to the crushing financial burden faced by students who wish to practice public interest law. However, this program has suffered from abysmally low rates of student utilization. Ironically, this low rate of utilization is not a failure of LRAP, but a measure of the successful implementation of one of LRAP's key goals—not to spend a great deal of money.

The current LRAP program can trace its origins to the Law Center Loan Forgiveness program (LCLF), created in 1986. Today, LRAP is an interest-free loan program that graduates in "qualifying employment" can use annually to assist them in repaying their student loans. For each year the graduate remains in qualifying employment, 10% of the total LRAP loan is forgiven.

Recommended Changes:

1. Expand the Definition of Qualifying Employment

   Foremost among LRAP's shortfalls is the fact that many students who are committed to public interest cannot benefit from it. Georgetown's current program defines public interest narrowly, to the exclusion of prosecutors, judicial clerks, government attorneys, associates in private public interest firms, and military lawyers. Georgetown stands alone among all other top schools in this regard. All other law schools in the "top ten" cover government employment.

   EJF recommends that eligible participants include those who: provide representation to otherwise unrepresented groups; attempt to effectuate political and social reform; work in a job that entails public-spirited service; or work on behalf of the public at a government institution.

2. Begin Total Forgiveness After Five Years

   The present ten-year forgiveness period serves to intimidate students from entering public interest. EJF recommends reducing it to five years. Other schools have shorter programs, including the University of Pennsylvania (five years) and the University of Michigan (four years).

3. Make LRAP Family-Friendly

   Fairly Compute Available Spousal Income: The current formula ignores the fact that a student's spouse may also have significant educational debt. EJF recommends: "The spouse's income, minus his/her educational debt, is added to the applicant's income, and the result is divided by two."

   Include a Provision for Parental Leave: A parent who leaves qualifying employment to care for a newborn or family member should not be deemed ineligible if they return to work within 24 months.

   Increase the Child Care Deduction: The $5,000 deduction has not been modified since 1989. EJF recommends raising it to account for inflation and permanently indexing it to inflation.

4. Accurately Determine Student Income

   LRAP does not cover educational loans incurred prior to law school, or any other debts. EJF recommends: "The applicant's annual payments for educational and other debt not accrued at Georgetown is subtracted from the applicant's income."

5. Guarantee Security for Students Who Enter the Program

   Students are not assured of an institutional commitment to support them. Under LRAP, if demand exceeds available funds, each recipient's grant is reduced. Also, a graduate who receives a raise may become financially ineligible. EJF recommends guaranteeing each participant the same level of benefits and increasing the income formula by 10% every year in the program.

6. Enhance Student Information About the Program

   EJF recommends that the Office of Financial Aid produce and distribute an LRAP brochure to all students, included with initial financial aid award letters. Information sessions should be held before OCI and again in the Spring.

7. Allocate the Funds Necessary

   LRAP has been hamstrung by a limited vision and a limited budget. Funds can be obtained through: external fundraising (as a primary goal of the next major campaign); re-evaluating the existing financial aid budget; or allocating tuition funds.

2. Summer Fellowships

Despite financial pressures, many Georgetown students have a strong desire to work for public interest employers during the summer. Every year EJF raises and distributes funds to 15–20 students. However, EJF has been able to support less than 50% of those who applied.

Georgetown lags far behind peer schools. NYU, Columbia, Harvard, and Yale all fund over 100 student fellowships. In 1993, Yale students raised approximately the same amount as Georgetown's EJF. After administration matching and contributions, Yale funded 83 students. Without assistance from the administration, Georgetown's EJF funded 20.

EJF recommends that the school annually match funds raised by EJF, and authorize students to use their work-study funds at public interest organizations.

3. Other Financial Aid Options

• Public Interest Scholarships — Presently no Georgetown scholarships are earmarked for students working in public interest. Scholarships are more cost-effective than LRAP funds. EJF recommends that public interest scholarships be a target for the next major fundraising campaign.
• Public Interest Debt Reduction Grants — By paying off a student's loans quickly, Georgetown saves money by not using LRAP funds to pay astronomical interest costs.
• Term-time Internships: Scholarships and Work-Study — For students who want to gain experience during the school year, working for a public interest employer is not financially realistic. EJF recommends that Georgetown offer term-time internship stipends and allow students to use their work-study awards at public interest organizations.